First Characterization in China of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in the Blue Fox ( Alopex lagopus)

• Published in: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
• Main Authors: Meng, Xiangchun, Zheng, Jun, He, Xijun, Jia, Honglin, Zhang, Yanlong
• Other Authors: National Natural Science Foundation of China, State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2014
• Subjects: Microbiology; Arctic; Alopex lagopus; Arctic Fox
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12135; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjeu.12135; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jeu.12135

Abstract Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidian parasite that infects a wide range of vertebrates, including primates. It has recently emerged as an opportunistic parasite of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. The blue fox ( Alopex lagopus also known as the arctic fox) is one of the most susceptible species for encephalitozoonosis. Here, we report an outbreak of encephalitozoonosis at a fox farm in China. The isolated parasites displayed the typical morphology of E. cuniculi as assessed by Masson's trichrome staining. Analysis of the internal transcribed spacer sequence indicated that the isolated parasite is a genotype III strain of E. cuniculi . Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of the PTP 1 gene verifies classification of this new strain (termed LN ‐1) with other genotype III E. cuniculi strains, though the PTP 3 and SWP 1 sequences diverge from the reference strain. This is the first report of encephalitozoonosis in farmed blue foxes in China.