Infection rate and genetic diversity of Giardia duodenalis assemblage C in Iranian stray dogs, targeting the glutamate dehydrogenase gene

Vet World Vol.14 February-2021 Article-13

Research Article

Veterinary World, 14(2): 419-425

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.419-425

Asghar Fazaeli¹, Mohammad Hasan Kohansal², Adel Spotin^3,4, Ali Haniloo¹, Abbasali Nourian¹, Alireza Khiabani², Abolghasem Siyadatpanah⁵, Roghayeh Norouzi⁶, and Veeranoot Nissapatorn⁷

1. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
2. School of Medicine, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran.
3. Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
4. Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
5. Ferdows School of Paramedical and Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
6. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
7. School of Allied Health Sciences, Research Excellence Center for Innovation and Health Products, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Giardia duodenalis is one of the most common enteric protozoan parasites in vertebrates, such as humans, domestic and wild animals, causing giardiasis. To the best of our knowledge, little is known about the genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblages. This study aimed to identify genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblages in Iranian stray dogs.

Materials and Methods: A total of 450 fecal samples were collected from 2015 to 2016 from stray dogs of Northwest Iran. All specimens were observed microscopically following concentration and flotation techniques. Subsequently, DNA samples were extracted, amplified, and sequenced targeting the glutamate dehydrogenase gene.

Results: The overall prevalence of G. duodenalis in infected dogs was estimated at 1.6%, based on microscopic and molecular diagnoses. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses indicated a high level of genetic diversity of assemblage C (haplotype diversity; 0.802).

Conclusion: The pairwise sequence distances between the identified isolates of assemblage C showed an intradiversity of 0.3%-1.3% and identity of 98.7%-100%. Current findings indicate that a significant genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblage C haplotypes is unequivocally circulates among stray dogs in Northwest Iran. Keywords: genetic variation, Giardia lamblia assemblage C, glutamate dehydrogenase, Iran, stray dogs.

Keywords: genetic variation, Giardia lamblia assemblage C, glutamate dehydrogenase, Iran, stray dogs.

How to cite this article: Fazaeli A, Kohansal MH, Spotin A, Haniloo A, Nourian A, Khiabani A, Siyadatpanah A, Norouzi R, Nissapatorn V (2021) Infection rate and genetic diversity of Giardia duodenalis assemblage C in Iranian stray dogs, targeting the glutamate dehydrogenase gene, Veterinary World, 14(2): 419-425.

Received: 22-09-2020 Accepted: 14-01-2021 Published online: 16-02-2021

Corresponding author: E-mail: kohansalhasan@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.419-425

Copyright: Fazaeli, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.