This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Yoshikawa, H.
Right arrow Articles by Takahashi, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Yoshikawa, H.
Right arrow Articles by Takahashi, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1324-1330, Vol. 38, No. 4
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Genomic Analysis of Blastocystis hominis Strains Isolated from Two Long-Term Health Care Facilities

Hisao Yoshikawa,1,* Niichiro Abe,2 Mizue Iwasawa,1 Syoko Kitano,1 Isao Nagano,3 Zhiliang Wu,3 and Yuzo Takahashi3

Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Kitauoya-Nishimachi, Nara 630-8506,1 Health and Epidemiology, Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Enviromental Sciences, Tennoji, Osaka 543-0026,2 and Department of Parasitology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu 500-8705,3 Japan

Received 10 September 1999/Returned for modification 22 November 1999/Accepted 13 January 2000

The genotype Blastocystis hominis is highly polymorphic. Therefore, a genetic marker would be a powerful tool for the identification or classification of B. hominis subtypes and could be used as a means to resolve the transmission route or origin of the parasite. To this end, 32 B. hominis isolates were collected from patients and/or staff members of two long-term health care facilities (facilities A and B), and these organisms were subjected to genotype analysis based on diagnostic PCR primers and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of small subunit rRNA gene (rDNA). Based on PCR amplification using diagnostic primers which were developed from randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of known strains of B. hominis, the 32 isolates of B. hominis were classified into three different subtypes. Thirty isolates, including twenty-four that were isolated from patients and a staff member, from facility A and all isolates isolated from six patients from facility B showed the same genotype. Two of six patients of facility B had been transferred from facility A, and these two patients also had the same-genotype B. hominis that corresponded to 24 isolates from facility A. This genotype strain may have been transmitted by these two patients from facility A to facility B, suggesting human-to-human transmission. In contrast, 2 of 26 isolates from facility A showed distinct genotypes, suggesting that the colonization by these two isolates is attributable to another infectious route. These different subtypes were subjected to RFLP analysis, and the RFLP profiles were correlated with the results obtained by diagnostic PCR primers. This study presents the first molecular evidence of possible human-to-human B. hominis infection between and/or among two small communities.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Kituoya-Nishimachi, Nara 630-8506, Japan. Phone: 81-742-20-3423. Fax: 81-742-20-3423. E-mail: sb56013{at}cc.nara-wu.ac.jp


Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1324-1330, Vol. 38, No. 4
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Tan, K. S. W. (2008). New Insights on Classification, Identification, and Clinical Relevance of Blastocystis spp.. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 21: 639-665 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Noel, C., Dufernez, F., Gerbod, D., Edgcomb, V. P., Delgado-Viscogliosi, P., Ho, L.-C., Singh, M., Wintjens, R., Sogin, M. L., Capron, M., Pierce, R., Zenner, L., Viscogliosi, E. (2005). Molecular Phylogenies of Blastocystis Isolates from Different Hosts: Implications for Genetic Diversity, Identification of Species, and Zoonosis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 348-355 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yoshikawa, H., Abe, N., Wu, Z. (2004). PCR-based identification of zoonotic isolates of Blastocystis from mammals and birds. Microbiology 150: 1147-1151 [Abstract] [Full Text]