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First Detection and Molecular Identification of Entamoeba in Yaks from China

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Abstract

Background

Yak, a predominant livestock of plateau areas, is known as a host to many parasites. And the genus Entamoeba, the third-common cause of the mortality worldwide from parasitic diseases, was discovered in yaks once.

Methods

We investigated the distribution and species of Entamoeba spp. from yaks in Qinghai province, northwestern China, by collecting 1027 yak fecal samples. All samples were divided according to seven geographical sites, four seasons, and two age groups of yaks. After extracting DNA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the 18S rRNA gene, and sequences were analyzed with phylogenetic method.

Results

We observed an overall Entamoeba positive rate of 36.32% (373/1027) in yaks from Qinghai province. The common species included Entamoeba bovis (284/373), Entamoeba sp. MG107/BEL (79/373), Entamoeba sp. ribosomal lineage (RL) two (8/373), and Entamoeba sp. RL9 (2/373). According to the result of statistical analysis, Entamoeba infection rate was the highest in summer and significantly differed from that observed during other seasons (P < 0.05). The yaks from Golog had the highest prevalence of Entamoeba among all geographical origins in Qinghai province (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed (P > 0.05) among different age groups, as evident from a positive rate of 39.58% in ≤ 6-month and 36.16% in > 6-month yaks.

Conclusion

These results indicate the prevalence and predominant species of Entamoeba in yaks. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report E. bovis, Entamoeba sp. RL2, and Entamoeba sp. RL9 in Chinese yaks.

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Fig. 1

Availability of Data and Materials

The data of the current study would be available from the corresponding author on a reasonable request.

Abbreviations

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RL:

Ribosomal lineages

χ 2 test:

Chi-square test/Chi-square goodness-of-fit test

BLAST:

Basic local alignment search tool

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the cooperation of the yak owners during the process of sampling.

Funding

This study was supported by the Key Research and Development Project of Shaanxi Province (Grant number No. 2020NY-017 to QL) and the State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant number No. SKLVEB2019KFKT007 to QL).

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Author notes

  1. Mei Ren and Fan Yang contributed equally to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Mei Ren, Fan Yang, Jing-min Gou, Pin-xue Wang, Min Zou, Xiao-hong Zhong & Qing Lin

  2. State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, Qinghai Province, People’s Republic of China

    Mei Ren & Qing Lin

  3. State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730046, Gansu Province, People’s Republic of China

    Mei Ren & Qing Lin

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  1. Mei Ren
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  2. Fan Yang
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  5. Min Zou
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  6. Xiao-hong Zhong
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  7. Qing Lin
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Contributions

MR helped with the collection of the fecal samples, performed the experiments of DNA extracting and PCR amplification, the data analyses and the writing of this manuscript. FY and JMG helped with the sample collection and the experiments. QL designed the experiment and helped with the final manuscript. PXW, MZ and XHZ helped with the experiments and the data analyses. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qing Lin.

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Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Ethical Approval

This study was conducted strictly as per the legal requirements of guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Ministry of Health, China, and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Northwest A&F University. Sampling was permitted by yak owners, and no specific authority was needed for sample collection.

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Ren, M., Yang, F., Gou, Jm. et al. First Detection and Molecular Identification of Entamoeba in Yaks from China. Acta Parasit. 66, 264–270 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-020-00258-3

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