title: Molecular characterization and multilocus genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi among horses in southwestern China.
abstract: Enterocytozoon bieneusi is one of the most prevalent causative species of diarrhea and enteric diseases in various hosts. E. bieneusi has been identified in humans, mammals, birds, rodents and reptiles in China, but few studies have reported E. bieneusi in horses. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the prevalence, molecular characteristics and zoonotic potential of E. bieneusi among horses in southwestern China.
  
  
  
  Three hundred and thirty-three fecal specimens were collected from horses on five farms in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of southwestern China. The prevalence of E. bieneusi was 22.5 % (75/333), as determined by nested polymerase chain reaction and sequencing analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene of E. bieneusi. Altogether, 10 genotypes were identified among the 75 E. bieneusi-positive samples: four of these genotypes were known (horse1, horse2, SC02 and D) and six were novel (SCH1-4 and YNH1-2). Multilocus sequence typing using three microsatellites (MS1, MS3 and MS7) and one minisatellite (MS4) revealed three, two, three and three genotypes at these four loci, respectively. In phylogenetic analysis, all the genotypes of E. bieneusi obtained in this study were clustered into three distinct groups: D, SC02 and SCH1-3 were clustered into group 1 (zoonotic potential); SCH4 was clustered into group 2 (cattle-hosted); whereas horse2, YNH1 and YNH2 were clustered into group 6 (unclear zoonotic potential).
  
  
  
  This is the first report of E. bieneusi among horses in southwestern China. This is also the first multilocus genotyping analysis using microsatellite and minisatellite markers of E. bieneusi in horses. The presence of genotype D, which was previously identified in humans, and genotypes SC02 and SCH1-3, which belong to potential zoonotic group 1, these results indicate that horses are a potential source of human E. bieneusi infections in China.
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Deng
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Li
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Zhijun
authors: Z
authors: Zhong
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Chao
authors: C
authors: Gong
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Xuehan
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 625001, China.
authors: Xiangming
authors: X
authors: Huang
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Xiao
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Ruoxuan
authors: R
authors: Zhao
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Wuyou
authors: W
authors: Wang
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Fan
authors: F
authors: Feng
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Yanchun
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Hualin
authors: H
authors: Fu
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China.
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: He
authors: Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 625001, China.
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 625001, China. 646401864@qq.com.
authors: Kongju
authors: K
authors: Wu
authors: The Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 611130, China. pgn.sicau@163.com.
authors: Guangneng
authors: G
authors: Peng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021862:Enterocytozoon / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005838:Genotype; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006736:Horses / Q000382:microbiology*; D016881:Microsporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
keywords: Enterocytozoon bieneusi; Horse; ITS gene; MLST; Zoonotic