Molecular prevalence, risk factors and genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in wild marine snails collected from offshore waters in eastern China

Cong, Wei; Elsheikha, Hany M.; Li, Man-Yao; Ma, Jun-Yang; Zou, Yang; Jiang, Zhao-Yang

Abstract

Increasing evidence exisits for the role that shellfish play in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in marine environment. However, limited information is available on the level of T. gondii infection in wild marine snails, which can play a role in the transmission of T. gondii to other marine organisms and humans. In this study, the prevalence of T. gondii DNA in wild marine snails collected from three coastal cities in China was determined. Between January 2018 and November 2019, 1,206 wild marine snails were randomly collected and examined for the presence of T. gondii DNA using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting T. gondii B1 gene. The amplified products were genotyped using multilocus PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We also examined whether species of snail, sampling region, sampling season, surface runoff near samplic site, residential water discharge near samplic site, and proximity to livestock farms are associated with the occurrence of T. gondii DNA in marine snails. Our results showed that 23 (1.91%) snails were positive for T. gondii B1 gene. The genotype of two of the 23 T. gondii amplicons was consistent with ToxoDB Genotype #9. Multiple logistic regression revealed that surface runoff near the sampling site (P = 0.039, odds ratio [OR] = 3.413, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-10.94) and residential water discharge near the sampling site (P = 0.021, OR = 3.990, 95%CI: 1.24-12.87) are more likely to be associated with the presence of T. gondii DNA in marine snails. The detection of T. gondii DNA in marine snails in China highlights the potential impact of the anthropogenic activities on marine organisms and the potential foodborne risk posed to humans with such an important terrestrial pathogen.

Citation

Cong, W., Elsheikha, H. M., Li, M.-Y., Ma, J.-Y., Zou, Y., & Jiang, Z.-Y. (2021). Molecular prevalence, risk factors and genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in wild marine snails collected from offshore waters in eastern China. Acta Tropica, 214, Article 105779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105779

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 24, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2020
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 29, 2021
• Journal: Acta Tropica
• Print ISSN: 0001-706X
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-6254
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 214
• Article Number: 105779
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105779
• Keywords: Parasitology; Infectious Diseases; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5125554
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001706X20316922
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Molecular prevalence, risk factors and genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in wild marine snails collected from offshore waters in eastern China; Journal Title: Acta Tropica; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105779; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.