Background & objectives: For detection and molecular characterization of Babesia microti in laboratory mice from India.
Methods: A total of 625 mice were screened by peripheral blood smear examination and subsequently was confirmed by PCR using a piroplasm conserved primer set (Piro A/B). Nested PCR was done using a species-specific primer targeting the gene encoding the small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA). The PCR products were cloned, purified and sequenced. A total of 12 isolates were obtained. The sequences were aligned and phylogenetic trees were prepared with other published Babesia spp. sequences.
Results: B. microti was detected with a total infection rate of 8.80%. The higher rate of infection was observed by species specific PCR (8.80%) than examined by blood smear (7.20%). Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that Babesia species detected in mice were genetically identical to the genotypes of B. microti and can be easily distinguished from other genotypes of Babesia parasites by neighbour joining and maximum likelihood method. Intra-species analysis indicated that all the twelve isolates from six North-Eastern states of India have a close identity but inter-species showed genetic reservoir host for transmission of babesial infection to humans.
Interpretation & conclusion: The detection of Babesia microti may suggest that laboratory mice may serve as potential reservoir host for human infection and possibility of innovative way of diagnosing and control of human babesiosis.

中文翻译：

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印度实验室小鼠巴贝斯虫的分子检测

背景和目的：用于检测和分子鉴定来自印度的实验室小鼠中的巴贝斯虫。
方法：通过外周血涂片检查共筛选出 625 只小鼠，随后使用 piroplasm 保守引物组 (Piro A/B) 通过 PCR 确认。巢式 PCR 使用物种特异性引物靶向编码小亚基核糖体 RNA (18S rRNA) 的基因进行。PCR产物被克隆、纯化和测序。共获得 12 个分离株。对序列进行比对，并用其他已发表的巴贝斯虫属制备系统发育树。序列。
结果： B. microti总感染率为8.80%。物种特异性 PCR (8.80%) 观察到的感染率高于血液涂片检查 (7.20%)。序列和系统发育分析表明，在小鼠体内检测到的巴贝虫种与B. microti的基因型在遗传上完全相同，并且可以通过相邻连接法和最大似然法很容易地将其与其他基因型的巴贝斯虫区分开来。种内分析表明，来自印度东北部六个邦的所有 12 株分离株都具有密切的同一性，但种间显示出将巴贝虫感染传播给人类的遗传宿主。
解读与结论：小巴贝斯虫的检测 可能表明实验室小鼠可能成为人类感染的潜在宿主，并可能成为诊断和控制人类巴贝斯虫病的创新方法。