• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.455-460
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• 2016

Blastocystis is a common zoonotic enteric protozoan that has been classified into 17 distinct subtypes (STs). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and subtype distributions of Blastocystis in villagers living along the Chao Phraya River, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, and to assess the risk of zoonotic infection. In total, 220 stool samples were collected, and DNA was extracted. PCR and sequencing were performed with primers targeting the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes. Blastocystis was present in 5.9% (13/220) of samples, and ST3 (5.0%; 11/220) was the predominant subtype, followed by ST2 (0.45%; 1/220) and ST6 (0.45%; 1/220). Phylogenetic trees were constructed with the maximum-likelihood method based on the Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano + G + I model, neighbor-joining, and maximum parsimony methods. The percentage of bootstrapped trees in which the associated taxa clustered together was relatively high. All the sequences of the Blastocystis-positive samples (KU051524-KU051536) were closely related to those from animals (pig, cattle, and chicken), indicating a zoonotic risk. Therefore, the villagers require proper health education, especially regarding the prevention of parasitic infection, to improve their personal hygiene and community health. Further studies are required to investigate the Blastocystis STs in the animals living in these villages.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2015

Blastocystis sp. is a common zoonotic intestinal protozoa which has been classified into 17 subtypes (STs). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and subtype distribution of Blastocystis in villagers living on the Thai-Myanmar border, where the risk of parasitic infection is high. A total of 207 stool samples were collected and DNA was extracted. PCR and sequencing using primers targeting small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene were performed. The prevalence of Blastocystis infection was 37.2% (77/207). ST3 (19.8%; 41/207) was the predominant subtype, followed by ST1 (11.6%; 24/207), ST2 (5.3%; 11/207), and ST4 (0.5%; 1/207). A phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the maximum likelihood (ML) method based on the Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano + G + I model. The percentage of bootstrapped trees in which the associated taxa clustered together was relatively high. Some sequences of Blastocystis positive samples (TK18, 39, 46, 71, and 90) were closely related to animals (pig and cattle) indicating zoonotic risks. Therefore, proper health education in parasitic prevention for the villagers should be promoted to improve their personal hygiene. Further longitudinal studies are required to monitor the prevalence of parasitic infections after providing health education and to investigate Blastocystis ST in animals living in these villages.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2013

This study was performed at 2 sites of Nak-Dong River to investigate the changes of nitrifiers depending on the presence and absence of organic pollutants (due to the effluents of domestic wastewater treatment plant, WWTP). Conventional chemical parameters such as T-N, $NH_4$-N, $NO_2$-N, $NO_3$-N were measured and the quantitative nitrifiers at the 2 sites were analyzed comparatively by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with NSO190 and NIT3, after checking the presence of gene amoA of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and 16S rDNA signature sequence for Nitrobacter sp. that belongs to nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Also ${\alpha}{\cdot}{\beta}{\cdot}{\gamma}$-Proteobacteria were detected using FISH to get a glimpse of the general bacterial community structure of the sites. Based on the distribution structure of the ${\alpha}{\cdot}{\beta}{\cdot}{\gamma}$-Proteobacteria and the measurement of nitrogen in different phases, it could be said that the site 2 was more polluted with organics than site 1. Corresponding to the above conclusion, the average numbers of AOB and NOB detected by NSO160 and NIT3, respectively, at site 2 [AOB, $9.3{\times}10^5$; NOB, $1.6{\times}10^6$ (cells/ml)] was more than those at site 1 [AOB, $7.8{\times}10^5$; NOB, $0.8{\times}10^6$ (cells/ml)] and also their ratios to total counts were higher at site 2 (AOB, 27%; NOB, 34%) than those at site 1 (AOB, 18%; NOB, 23%). Thus, it could be concluded that the nitrification at site 2 was more active due to continuous loading of organics from the effluents of domestic WWTP, compared to site 1 located closed to raw drinking water supply and subsequently less polluted with organics.