Folia Parasitologica 68:002 (2021) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2021.002

Occurrence and genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild foxes, wolves, jackals, and bears in central Europe

Martin Kváč^1,2, Eva Myšková², Nikola Holubová^1,2, Klára Kellnerová², Marta Kicia³, Dušan Rajský⁴, John McEvoy⁵, Yaoyu Feng^6,7, Vladimír Hanzal⁸, Bohumil Sak¹

¹ Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic;

² Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic;

³ Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland;

⁴ Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovak Republic;

⁵ Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA;

⁶ Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China;

⁷ Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou, China;

⁸ Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic

Parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1910 are one of the most common protistan parasites of vertebrates. Faecal samples from 179 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes [Linnaeus]), 100 grey wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus), 11 golden jackals (Canis aureus Linnaeus), and 63 brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus) were collected in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Samples were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. using microscopy and PCR/sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analysis based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU), actin and 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes using the maximum likelihood method revealed the presence of Cryptosporidium tyzzeri Ren, Zhao, Zhang, Ning, Jian et al., 2012 (n = 1) and C. andersoni Lindsay, Upton, Owens, Morgan, Mead et Blackburn, 2000 (n = 2) in red foxes, C. canis Fayer, Trout, Xiao, Morgan, Lai et Dubey, 2001 (n = 2) and C. ubiquitum Fayer, Santín et Macarisin, 2010 (n = 2) in grey wolves, and C. galli Pavlásek, 1999 in brown bears (n = 1) and red foxes (n = 1). Subtyping of isolates of C. ubiquitum and C. tyzzeri based on sequence analysis of gp60 showed that they belong to the XIId and IXa families, respectively. The presence of specific DNA of C. tyzzeri, C. andersoni and C. galli, which primarily infect the prey of carnivores, is probably the result of their passage through the gastrointestinal tract of the carnivores. Finding C. ubiquitum XIId in wolves may mean broadening the host spectrum of this subtype, but it remains possible this is the result of infected prey passing through the wolf - in this case deer, which is a common host of this parasite. The dog genotype of C. canis was reported for the first time in wolves.

Keywords: PCR, carnivores, genotyping, SSU, gp60, microscopy, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia

Received: October 10, 2020; Revised: November 4, 2020; Accepted: November 24, 2020; Published online: February 2, 2021  Show citation