Mitochondrial genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Echinococcus multilocularis in Europe

• Published in: International Journal for Parasitology
• Main Authors: Santoro, Azzurra, Santolamazza, Federica, Cacciò, Simone, M, La Rosa, Giuseppe, Antolová, Daniela, Auer, Herbert, Bagrade, Guna, Bandelj, Petra, Basso, Walter, Beck, Relja, Citterio, Carlo, V, Davidson, Rebecca, K, Deksne, Gunita, Frey, Caroline, F, Fuglei, Eva, Glawischnig, Walter, Gottstein, Bruno, Harna, Jiří, Huus Petersen, Heidi, Karamon, Jacek, Jansen, Famke, Jarošová, Júlia, Jokelainen, Pikka, Lundström-Stadelmann, Britta, Maksimov, Pavlo, Miljević, Milan, Miterpáková, Martina, Moks, Epp, Origgi, Francesco, Ozolina, Zanda, Ryser, Marie-Pierre, Romig, Thomas, Šarkūnas, Mindaugas, Scorrano, Nathalie, Saarma, Urmas, Šnábel, Viliam, Sréter, Tamás, Umhang, Gérald, Vengušt, Gorazd, Žele Vengušt, Diana, Casulli, Adriano
• Other Authors: Istituto Superiore di Sanità = National Institute of Health (ISS), Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS), Medizinische Universität Wien = Medical University of Vienna, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava” (LSFRI Silava), University of Ljubljana, Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE), Croatian Veterinary Institute = Hrvatski veterinarski institut, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), Norwegian Veterinary Institute Oslo (NVI), Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR), Norwegian Polar Institute, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), State Veterinary Institute Olomouc, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, National Veterinary Research Institute Pulawy, Pologne (NVRI), Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITM), Statens Serum Institut Copenhagen, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Institute for Biological Research Sinisa Stankovic Belgrade (IBISS), University of Belgrade Belgrade, PARASITOLOGICAL INSTITUE OF THE SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES KOSICE SVK, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), National Centre for Laboratory Research and Risk Assessment, Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment BIOR, University of Hohenheim, Lithuanian University of health Sciences (LSMU), University of Tartu, National center for public health Hungary, Laboratoire de la rage et de la faune sauvage de Nancy (LRFSN), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), European Project: 773830, H2020-SFS-2017-1 ,One Health EJP(2018)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Echinococcus multilocularis; Alveolar echinococcosis; Europe; Mitochondrial genes; Population structure; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology; Svalbard; Norway
• Online Access: https://anses.hal.science/anses-04604437; https://anses.hal.science/anses-04604437v1/document; https://anses.hal.science/anses-04604437v1/file/Santoro_International%20Journal%20for%20Parasitology_2024.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2024.01.003

International audience The cestode Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis, a fatal zoonotic parasitic disease of the northern hemisphere. Red foxes are the main reservoir hosts and, likely, the main drivers of the geographic spread of the disease in Europe. Knowledge of genetic relationships among E. multilocularis isolates at a European scale is key to understanding the dispersal characteristics of E. multilocularis. Hence, the present study aimed to describe the genetic diversity of E. multilocularis isolates obtained from different host species in 19 European countries. Based on the analysis of complete nucleotide sequences of the cob, atp6, nad2, nad1 and cox1 mitochondrial genes (4,968 bp), 43 haplotypes were inferred. Four haplotypes represented 62.56 % of the examined isolates (142/227), and one of these four haplotypes was found in each country investigated, except Svalbard, Norway. While the haplotypes from Svalbard were markedly different from all the others, mainland Europe appeared to be dominated by two main clusters, represented by most western, central and eastern European countries, and the Baltic countries and northeastern Poland, respectively. Moreover, one Asian-like haplotype was identified in Latvia and northeastern Poland. To better elucidate the presence of Asian genetic variants of E. multilocularis in Europe, and to obtain a more comprehensive Europe-wide coverage, further studies, including samples from endemic regions not investigated in the present study, especially some eastern European countries, are needed. Further, the present work proposes historical causes that may have contributed to shaping the current genetic variability of E. multilocularis in Europe.