Detection of classic and cryptic Strongyloides genotypes by deep amplicon sequencing: A preliminary survey of dog and human specimens collected from remote Australian communities

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 Aug 20;13(8):e0007241. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007241. eCollection 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Strongyloidiasis is caused by the human infective nematodes Strongyloides stercoralis, Strongyloides fuelleborni subsp. fuelleborni and Strongyloides fuelleborni subsp. kellyi. The zoonotic potential of S. stercoralis and the potential role of dogs in the maintenance of strongyloidiasis transmission has been a topic of interest and discussion for many years. In Australia, strongyloidiasis is prevalent in remote socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in the north of the continent. Being an isolated continent that has been separated from other regions for a long geological period, description of diversity of Australian Strongyloides genotypes adds to our understanding of the genetic diversity within the genus. Using PCR and amplicon sequencing (Illumina sequencing technology), we sequenced the Strongyloides SSU rDNA hyper-variable I and hyper-variable IV regions using Strongyloides-specific primers, and a fragment of the mtDNA cox1 gene using primers that are broadly specific for Strongyloides sp. and hookworms. These loci were amplified from DNA extracted from Australian human and dog faeces, and one human sputum sample. Using this approach, we confirm for the first time that potentially zoonotic S. stercoralis populations are present in Australia, suggesting that dogs represent a potential reservoir of human strongyloidiasis in remote Australian communities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ancylostomatoidea
  • Animals
  • Australia / epidemiology
  • Cyclooxygenase 1
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics
  • DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
  • Dog Diseases / epidemiology
  • Dog Diseases / parasitology
  • Dogs
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Genotype*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Strongyloides / classification
  • Strongyloides / genetics*
  • Strongyloides / isolation & purification*
  • Strongyloidiasis / epidemiology
  • Strongyloidiasis / physiopathology*
  • Strongyloidiasis / transmission
  • Strongyloidiasis / veterinary*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • Cyclooxygenase 1
  • PTGS1 protein, human

Grants and funding

The work has been supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and Flinders University Overseas Travelling Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Sequencing, bioinformatics, and genotyping assay design were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advanced Molecular Detection Initiative.