Prevalence of Pentatrichomonas hominis in Foxes and Raccoon Dogs and Changes of Gut Microbiota of Infected Female Foxes in Hebei and Henan Province in China

Abstract

Abstract Pentatrichomonas hominis (P. hominis) is a zoonotic parasite with a wide range of hosts causing gastrointestinal diseases in host. The present study aimed to evaluate the infection rate of P. hominisamong caged foxes and raccoon dogs and the effect of P. hominis on gut microbiota in female foxes in Hebei and Henan province in China. The result showed that the total infection rate of P. hominis in foxes and raccoon dogs was 31.69% (283/893). The infection rates of P. hominis in foxes and raccoon dogs were 28.21% (88/312) and 33.56% (195/581), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all P. hominisdetected in the present study were zoonotic genotype CC1. Compared with P. hominis-negative group, the diversity of gut microbiota in P. hominis-positive group were lower. At the phylum level, the abundance of Firmicutes and the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes(F/B) in P. hominis-positive group were lower relative to P. hominis-negative group. While the abundance of Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were higher in P. hominis-positive group relative to that of P. hominis-negative group. At the genus level, the abundances of Streptococcus spp., Lactobacillusspp., Prevotella spp., and Bifidobacterium spp. increased in P. hominis-positive group, while the abundance of Clostridiaceae - Clostridium spp. decreased in P. hominis-positive group relative to that of P. hominis-negtive group. Overall, the present study evaluated the prevalence of P. hominis in Henan and Hebei province and found that the infection of P. hominis interrupted the diversity of gut microbiota in female foxes.