Advances of environmental DNA technology in schistosomiasis surveillance

Abstract

Schistosomiasis, an important zoonotic parasitic disease, is one of the six major tropical diseases identified by WHO, and also one of the most important parasitic diseases for prevention and control in China. After more than 70 years of efforts, the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in China has made great achievements, and the current epidemic of schistosomiasis in China has entered an extremely low epidemic state, but the distribution base of the only intermediate host of schistosomiasis, Oncomelania hupensis, is still large. For now, the techniques used to monitor schistosomiasis have shortcomings such as time-consuming, laborious and low sensitivity, which cannot meet the current needs of China. Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to DNA that can be extracted from environmental samples (such as soil, water or air) without isolating any target organisms, which is a complex mixture of genomic DNA and its degradation products from different organisms in the same environment. eDNA technology can reflect the community or species composition information in the ecosystem through DNA extraction and detection of environmental samples. Compared with traditional biological monitoring methods, eDNA technology has the advantages of high efficiency, high sensitivity and environmental friendliness. eDNA has been successfully used for the specific detection of Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma japonicum. This paper reviews the current detection methods of eDNA, the application and technical limitations of eDNA technology in schistosomiasis monitoring, aiming to provide scientific reference for research in the field of schistosomiasis surveillance.

Abstract

摘要： 血吸虫病是一种重要的人兽共患寄生虫病, 是WHO确定的六大热带病之一, 也是我国重点防控的寄生虫病 之一。经过七十多年的努力, 我国血吸虫病防控工作取得了巨大成就, 当前我国血吸虫病疫情已进人极低度流行状 态, 但血吸虫唯一中间宿主钉螺的分布面积基数仍然较大, 目前血吸虫病的监测技术存在费时费力、敏感性低等缺点, 不能满足我国的现状需求。环境DNA(environment DNA, eDNA)是指无需分离任何目标生物即可从环境样本(如土壤、水或空气)中提取的DNA, 是来自同一环境中不同生物体基因组DNA及其降解产物所组成的复杂混合物。eDNA技术 可以通过对环境样品进行DNA提取和检测, 反映生态系统中的群落或物种组成信息。相较于传统生物监测方法, eDNA 技术具有髙效率、髙灵敏度、环境友好等优势。eDNA技术目前已成功应用于曼氏血吸虫病、埃及血吸虫病和日本 血吸虫病的监测。本文对目前eDNA的检测方法、eDNA技术在血吸虫病监测中的应用及其技术局限性进行了综述, 旨 在为血吸虫病监测领域的研究提供科学参考。