Population Genetic Analysis in Giardia duodenalis: Genetic Diversity and Haplotype Sharing between Clinical and Environmental Sources

• Grant number: 16/22591-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants - Publications - Scientific article
• Start date: December 01, 2016
• End date: March 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Anete Pereira de Souza
• Grantee: Anete Pereira de Souza
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Giardia duodenalis is a flagellated intestinal protozoan responsible for infections in various hosts including humans and several wild and domestic animals. Few studies correlate environmental contamination and clinical infections in the same region. The aim of this study was to compare groups of Giardia duodenalis from clinical and environmental sources through population genetic analyses to verify haplotype sharing and the degree of genetic similarity among populations from clinical and environmental sources in the metropolitan region of Campinas. The results showed that there is high diversity of haplotypes and substantial genetic similarity between clinical and environmental groups of G. duodenalis. We demonstrated the sharing of Giardia genotypes among the different populations studied. The comparison between veterinary and human sequences led us to identify new zoonotic genotypes, including human isolates from genetic assemblage C. The application of a population genetics analysis in epidemiological studies allows the quantification of the degree of genetic similarity among populations of Giardia duodenalis from different sources of contamination. The genetic similarity of Giardia isolates among human, veterinary, and environmental groups reinforced the correlation between clinical and environmental isolates in this region which is of great importance for public health. (AU)