Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Slaughtered Goats in Central China

Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections can cause reproductive failure in animals, including goats, and toxoplasmosis is one of the most important foodborne diseases. However, information on the molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of T. gondii and N. caninum in the tissues of goats in China is limited. In this study, brain samples of 422 slaughtered goats were collected from slaughterhouses in Henan and Anhui provinces, Central China, and examined for the presence of T. gondii and N. caninum by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on B1 and NC5 genes, respectively. The prevalence of T. gondii and N. caninum DNA was 5.2% and 2.8%, respectively. No significant differences were found between the prevalences of two parasite infections and animal age, sex, and region (p > 0.05). Two of 22 T. gondii-positive samples were completely genotyped at 11 genetic markers (SAG1, [3 ' + 5 '] SAG2, alternative SAG2 [alt. SAG2], SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, and Apico) using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and were identified as genotype ToxoDB no. 225, which has not been previously reported in goats in any country worldwide. For N. caninum, two different sequences at the ITS1 region, three genotypes at the MS5 microsatellite locus, and one genotype at the MS8 locus were identified. This study showed that T. gondii and N. caninum are moderately prevalent in goats in Central China; however, it should be emphasized that T. gondii prevalence in goats poses a potential health threat for consumers in the investigated areas. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the genetic characterization of N. caninum isolates from goats in China. Our results have important implications for a better understanding of the genetic diversity of these parasites in China.