The 18S rDNA and ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 genetic markers exhibit some limitations, including low resolution in the molecular epidemiological study of Balantioides coli. Here, five microsatellite loci (BC-MS1, BC-MS5, BC-MS10, BC-MS11, and BC-MS12) with high amplification efficiency and polymorphism were selected from genomic data of B. coli to develop a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method for the first time. Sequence analysis reveals that there are multiple MLS subtypes and groups among pig-derived isolates in China and no obvious geographical isolation. The established MLST method demonstrates higher resolution than conventional genotyping approaches relying on 18S rDNA or ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 and will serve as a useful tool for investigating the transmission dynamics and genetic diversity of this zoonotic pathogen.
Zhao et al. (Mon,) studied this question.