Parasites, drugs and captivity: blastocystis-microbiome associations in captive water voles

Betts, E.L., Hoque, S., Torbe, L., Bailey, J.R., Ryan, H., Toller, K., Breakell, V., Carpenter, A.I. ORCID: 0000-0002-0262-9895, Diana, A., Matechou, E., Gentekaki, E. and Tsaousis, A.D., 2021. Parasites, drugs and captivity: blastocystis-microbiome associations in captive water voles. Biology, 10 (6): 457. ISSN 2079-7737

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Abstract

(1) Background: Blastocystis is a microbial eukaryote inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract of a broad range of animals including humans. Several studies have shown that the organism is associated with specific microbial profiles and bacterial taxa that have been deemed beneficial to intestinal and overall health. Nonetheless, these studies are focused almost exclusively on humans, while there is no similar information on other animals. (2) Methods: Using a combination of conventional PCR, cloning and sequencing, we investigated presence of Blastocystis along with Giardia and Cryptosporidium in 16 captive water voles sampled twice from a wildlife park. We also characterised their bacterial gut communities. (3) Results: Overall, alpha and beta diversities between water voles with and without Blastocystis did not differ significantly. Differences were noted only on individual taxa with Treponema and Kineothrix being significantly reduced in Blastocystis positive water voles. Grouping according to antiprotozoal treatment and presence of other protists did not reveal any differences in the bacterial community composition either. (4) Conclusion: Unlike human investigations, Blastocystis does not seem to be associated with specific gut microbial profiles in water voles

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Biology
Creators: Betts, E.L., Hoque, S., Torbe, L., Bailey, J.R., Ryan, H., Toller, K., Breakell, V., Carpenter, A.I., Diana, A., Matechou, E., Gentekaki, E. and Tsaousis, A.D.
Publisher: MDPI
Date: 22 May 2021
Volume: 10
Number: 6
ISSN: 2079-7737
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.3390/biology10060457DOI
1440873Other
Rights: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Divisions: Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by: Laura Ward
Date Added: 26 May 2021 10:14
Last Modified: 31 May 2021 15:02
Related URLs:
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/42921

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