Yaks are of great importance on the high plateau. However, a severe diarrhea disease has emerged in the past few years, causing a catastrophic threat to the yak industry. The current study was carried out to explore the parasitic pathogens involved in the diarrheal death of yaks with bloody excrement from Sichuan, China. A total of 12 fresh fecal samples were obtained from 6 healthy yak calves (H group) and six yak calves that died from acute bloody diarrheal (B group). High-throughput sequencing was utilized to compare the parasite burden between the H and B yak groups. At the phylum level, Amoebozoa (P<0.0001), Apicomplexa (P<0.0001), and Blastocysta (P<0.0001) were discovered to be higher in B yaks, respectively. On the other hand, Loukozoa (P<0.0001) and Parabasalia (P<0.0001) were both found to be significantly higher in H yaks. At the genus level, Entamoeba (P<0.0001), Theileria (P<0.001), Tetratrichomonas (P<0.01), Blastocystis (P<0.0001), and Cryptosporidium (P<0.0001) were found to be predominantly higher in B yaks, while Simplicimonas (P<0.0001), Hypotrichomonas (P<0.0001), and Gregarina (P<0.01) were higher in H yaks. In conclusion, the current research herein revealed the genus of Entamoeba, Theileria, Tetratrichomonas, Blastocystis, and Cryptosporidium as potential parasitic pathogens causing the serious emerging bloody diarrheal deaths in yaks on the plateau. Our present results provide insightful knowledge that can be important in controlling and preventing diarrhea in bovine animals.

Author Name: Kun Li, Houqiang Luo, Khalid Mehmood, Muhammad Shahzad and Jiakui Li

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Keywords: Parasitic pathogens, 18S, Diarrheal, Yak, Sequencing

ISSN: 2708-7182

EISSN: 2708-7190

EOI/DOI: https://doi.org/10.47278/journ

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