Molecular identification and characterization of waterborne protozoa among stranded Dugong dugon

<p dir="ltr">The Persian Gulf hosts the second-largest population of Dugongs. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as Vulnerable to Extinction species. Incidental fishing, vessel strikes, environmental pollution, habitat degradation, and infectious diseases currently threaten these sirenians. While research focused on the abovementioned threats, little is known about pathogen infections, particularly waterborne parasites. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the waterborne parasites, namely <i>Blastocystis, Cryptosporidium, Dientamoeba fragilis, Giardia duodenalis, </i>and <i>Toxoplasma gondii </i>in the Qatar Dugongs population. Hence, twenty-three tissues from stranded Dugongs' carcasses were collected postmortem and subjected to DNA extraction and parasite qPCR screening. Only <i>Blastocystis </i>and <i>Cryptosporidium</i> species were detected in different tissues across the tested animals harboring genotypes ST1 and <i>Cryptosporidium hominis</i> IbA9G3, respectively, with the first-time report of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. within sirenian hosts. Continuous monitoring should be provided to shed lights about the contamination sources of these endangered species and clarify the zoonotic potential transmission routes between wildlife and humans.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117454" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117454</a></p>