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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Parasitology

First molecular and morphological characterization of Entamoeba bovis in domestic and wild ruminants in Italy reveals a shared lineage across host species and ecological settings

  • Filippo Maria Dini1
  • Talita Bordoni1
  • Chiara Belli1
  • Enrica Bellinello2
  • Aurora Lattanzi1
  • Roberta Galuppi1
  1. 1Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  2. 2Research, Ecology and Environment Dimension (D.R.E.Am. Italia), Pistoia, Italy
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Abstract

Entamoeba bovis is a common intestinal amoeba of ruminants, yet molecularly confirmed data from Europe remain limited. We investigated the occurrence, morphology and genetic variability of E. bovis in Italian domestic and wild ruminants and developed a rapid species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Faecal samples from calves (n = 45), goats (n = 26), sheep (n = 11) and Italian red deer Cervus elaphus italicus (n = 25) were examined by sediment microscopy and iodine staining. Amoebic stages were detected in 57% of bovine, 61.5% of caprine, 100% of ovine and 56% of red deer samples. Across hosts, cysts were consistently uninucleate and displayed typical E. bovis morphology, including frequent chromatoid bodies and an iodophilic glycogen mass. Representative positives were sequenced at the 18S rRNA locus (∼800 bp), confirming E. bovis (98.6–99.8% identity; 100% query coverage). Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis placed all Italian isolates within the E. bovis clade and indicated a shared lineage across domestic ruminants and red deer, with no segregation by host or ecological setting. A newly designed E. bovis-specific PCR (375 bp) consistently yielded a single amplicon in all sequenced positives, supporting its use for rapid screening without sequencing.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{dini2026first,
  title = {{First molecular and morphological characterization of Entamoeba bovis in domestic and wild ruminants in Italy reveals a shared lineage across host species and ecological settings}},
  author = {Filippo Maria Dini and Talita Bordoni and Chiara Belli and Enrica Bellinello and Aurora Lattanzi and Roberta Galuppi},
  journal = {Parasitology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1017/s0031182026102327},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182026102327},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - First molecular and morphological characterization of Entamoeba bovis in domestic and wild ruminants in Italy reveals a shared lineage across host species and ecological settings
AU  - Filippo Maria Dini
AU  - Talita Bordoni
AU  - Chiara Belli
AU  - Enrica Bellinello
AU  - Aurora Lattanzi
AU  - Roberta Galuppi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/18
JO  - Parasitology
DO  - 10.1017/s0031182026102327
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182026102327
AB  - Entamoeba bovis is a common intestinal amoeba of ruminants, yet molecularly confirmed data from Europe remain limited. We investigated the occurrence, morphology and genetic variability of E. bovis in Italian domestic and wild ruminants and developed a rapid species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Faecal samples from calves (n = 45), goats (n = 26), sheep (n = 11) and Italian red deer Cervus elaphus italicus (n = 25) were examined by sediment microscopy and iodine staining. Amoebic stages were detected in 57% of bovine, 61.5% of caprine, 100% of ovine and 56% of red deer samples. Across hosts, cysts were consistently uninucleate and displayed typical E. bovis morphology, including frequent chromatoid bodies and an iodophilic glycogen mass. Representative positives were sequenced at the 18S rRNA locus (∼800 bp), confirming E. bovis (98.6–99.8% identity; 100% query coverage). Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis placed all Italian isolates within the E. bovis clade and indicated a shared lineage across domestic ruminants and red deer, with no segregation by host or ecological setting. A newly designed E. bovis-specific PCR (375 bp) consistently yielded a single amplicon in all sequenced positives, supporting its use for rapid screening without sequencing.
SN  - 0031-1820
SN  - 1469-8161
ER  -