Specific Detection of Echinococcus Spp. from the Tibetan Fox (Vulpes Ferrilata) and the Red Fox (V. Vulpes) Using Copro-DNA PCR Analysis

Overview

Journal Parasitol Res

Specialty Parasitology

Date 2012 Jun 30

PMID 22744713

Citations 21

Authors

Weibin Jiang

Nan Liu

Gaotian Zhang

Pengcuo Renqing

Fei Xie

Tiaoying Li

Zhenghuan Wang

Xiaoming Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

There are three Echinococcus species, Echinococcus granulosus, E. multilocularis, and E. shiquicus, which are distributed on the vast area of pastureland on the eastern Tibetan plateau in China. Tibetan foxes (Vulpes ferrilata) have been determined to be the main wild definitive host of E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus, but little information is available on the prevalence of these two parasites in Tibetan foxes. Consequently, the copro-prevalence of these parasites in foxes from the eastern Tibetan plateau was evaluated in this study. For each copro-DNA sample extracted from fox feces, a 133-bp segment of EgG1 Hae III was used to screen for infection with E. granulosus. Multiplex nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was used to target an 874-bp segment of the mitochondrial COI gene to distinguish E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus. Among 184 fecal samples, 120 were from Tibetan foxes and six from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Of the fecal samples from Tibetan foxes, 74 (giving a copro-prevalence of 62%) showed the presence of Echinococcus spp.: 23 (19%) were found to contain E. multilocularis, 32 (27%) E. shiquicus, and 19 (16%) showed mixed infection with both E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus. Two fecal samples from red foxes were found to be infected with E. multilocularis. No fox feces were found to be infected with E. granulosus. Tests on zinc finger protein genes and a 105-bp fragment of the Sry gene found no significant difference in the prevalence of the two parasites between sexes. The efficiency of our multiplex nested PCR methods were compared with previous polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods and some problems associated with the copro-PCR were discussed.

Citing Articles

Species Composition of a Small Mammal Community and Prevalence of spp. in the Alpine Pastoral Area of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau.

Zheng J, Sun X, Wei X, Wang G, Yuan C, Weng X Pathogens. 2024; 13(7).

PMID: 39057785 PMC: 11280319. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13070558.

Molecular detection of and in red foxes () from China.

Wang S, Cui N, Lv Z, Wang N, Liu G, Zhao S Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2024; 23:100925.

PMID: 38560661 PMC: 10981090. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2024.100925.

species in wildlife.

Romig T, Wassermann M Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2024; 23:100913.

PMID: 38405672 PMC: 10884515. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2024.100913.

Establishment of a secondary infection laboratory model of metacestode using BALB/c mice and Mongolian jirds ().

Wu Y, Li L, Xu F, Yan H, Ohiolei J, Shumuye N Parasitology. 2023; 150(9):813-820.

PMID: 37475454 PMC: 10478056. DOI: 10.1017/S0031182023000604.

Morphological and molecular analyses of and species from red foxes () in northwestern China.

Liu G, Ji N, Hornok S, Zhang Y, Zhao S, Chen X Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2021; 16:270-274.

PMID: 34868872 PMC: 8626562. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.11.003.

References

Tsukada H, Morishima Y, Nonaka N, Oku Y, Kamiya M . Preliminary study of the role of red foxes in Echinococcus multilocularis transmission in the urban area of Sapporo, Japan. Parasitology. 2000; 120 ( Pt 4):423-8. DOI: 10.1017/s0031182099005582. View

Mehrabani D, Oryan A, Sadjjadi S . Prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus infection in stray dogs and herbivores in Shiraz, Iran. Vet Parasitol. 1999; 86(3):217-20. DOI: 10.1016/s0304-4017(99)00151-x. View

Creel S, Spong G, Sands J, Rotella J, Zeigle J, Joe L . Population size estimation in Yellowstone wolves with error-prone noninvasive microsatellite genotypes. Mol Ecol. 2003; 12(7):2003-9. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2003.01868.x. View

Morishima Y, Tsukada H, Nonaka N, Oku Y, Kamiya M . Coproantigen survey for Echinococcus multilocularis prevalence of red foxes in Hokkaido, Japan. Parasitol Int. 2001; 48(2):121-34. DOI: 10.1016/s1383-5769(99)00009-4. View

Nakao M, Sako Y, Yokoyama N, Fukunaga M, Ito A . Mitochondrial genetic code in cestodes. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2001; 111(2):415-24. DOI: 10.1016/s0166-6851(00)00334-0. View

Xiao N, Qiu J, Nakao M, Li T, Yang W, Chen X . Echinococcus shiquicus n. sp., a taeniid cestode from Tibetan fox and plateau pika in China. Int J Parasitol. 2005; 35(6):693-701. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.01.003. View

Trachsel D, Deplazes P, Mathis A . Identification of taeniid eggs in the faeces from carnivores based on multiplex PCR using targets in mitochondrial DNA. Parasitology. 2007; 134(Pt 6):911-20. DOI: 10.1017/S0031182007002235. View

Ziadinov I, Deplazes P, Mathis A, Mutunova B, Abdykerimov K, Nurgaziev R . Frequency distribution of Echinococcus multilocularis and other helminths of foxes in Kyrgyzstan. Vet Parasitol. 2010; 171(3-4):286-92. PMC: 2903646. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.04.006. View

van der Giessen J, Rombout Y, Franchimont J, Limper L, Homan W . Detection of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in The Netherlands. Vet Parasitol. 1999; 82(1):49-57. DOI: 10.1016/s0304-4017(98)00263-5. View

10.

Abbasi I, Branzburg A, Campos-Ponce M, Abdel Hafez S, Raoul F, Craig P . Copro-diagnosis of Echinococcus granulosus infection in dogs by amplification of a newly identified repeated DNA sequence. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2003; 69(3):324-30. View

11.

Bohling J, Waits L . Assessing the prevalence of hybridization between sympatric Canis species surrounding the red wolf (Canis rufus) recovery area in North Carolina. Mol Ecol. 2011; 20(10):2142-56. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05084.x. View

12.

van Asch B, Alves C, Santos L, Pinheiro R, Pereira F, Gusmao L . Genetic profiles and sex identification of found-dead wolves determined by the use of an 11-loci PCR multiplex. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2010; 4(2):68-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2009.05.003. View

13.

Tiaoying L, Jiamin Q, Wen Y, Craig P, Xingwang C, Ning X . Echinococcosis in Tibetan populations, western Sichuan Province, China. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006; 11(12):1866-73. PMC: 3367622. DOI: 10.3201/eid1112.050079. View

14.

Nonaka N, Hirokawa H, Inoue T, Nakao R, Ganzorig S, Kobayashi F . The first instance of a cat excreting Echinococcus multilocularis eggs in Japan. Parasitol Int. 2008; 57(4):519-20. DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2008.07.001. View

15.

Deplazes P, Gottstein B, Eckert J, Jenkins D, Ewald D, Jimenez-Palacios S . Detection of Echinococcus coproantigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in dogs, dingoes and foxes. Parasitol Res. 1992; 78(4):303-8. DOI: 10.1007/BF00937088. View

16.

Torgerson P, Deplazes P . Echinococcosis: diagnosis and diagnostic interpretation in population studies. Trends Parasitol. 2009; 25(4):164-70. DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2008.12.008. View

17.

Raoul F, Deplazes P, Nonaka N, Piarroux R, Vuitton D, Giraudoux P . Assessment of the epidemiological status of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in France using ELISA coprotests on fox faeces collected in the field. Int J Parasitol. 2001; 31(14):1579-88. DOI: 10.1016/s0020-7519(01)00280-6. View

18.

Stefanic S, Shaikenov B, Deplazes P, Dinkel A, Torgerson P, Mathis A . Polymerase chain reaction for detection of patent infections of Echinococcus granulosus ("sheep strain") in naturally infected dogs. Parasitol Res. 2004; 92(4):347-51. DOI: 10.1007/s00436-003-1043-y. View

19.

Lahmar S, Lahmar S, Boufana B, Bradshaw H, Craig P . Screening for Echinococcus granulosus in dogs: Comparison between arecoline purgation, coproELISA and coproPCR with necropsy in pre-patent infections. Vet Parasitol. 2006; 144(3-4):287-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.10.016. View

20.

Xiao N, Qiu J, Nakao M, Li T, Yang W, Chen X . Echinococcus shiquicus, a new species from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau region of China: discovery and epidemiological implications. Parasitol Int. 2005; 55 Suppl:S233-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2005.11.035. View