CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES >

2025 , Vol. 43 >Issue 4: 596 - 599

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2025.04.023

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

Detection of Schistosoma japonicum cercariae using environmental DNA assay

  • WEN Yusong ,
  • XU Hui ,
  • QIU Tingting ,
  • ZHAO Qin ,
  • LI Jie ,
  • XU Jianrui ,
  • ZENG Xiaojun ,
  • Ding Sheng ,
  • LI Zhaojun
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  • 1 Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Nanchang 330096, Jiangxi, China
    2 School of Public Health, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, China

Received date: 2025-03-31

  Revised date: 2025-05-21

  Online published: 2025-10-09

Supported by

Jiangxi Provincial Science and Technology Project(20203BBGL73168);Jiangxi Provincial Leading Discipline Construction Program in Medical Sciences(2021030107);Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission(202211332);Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission(202410497);2024 Public Health Talent Training Support Project of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration

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Abstract

To investigate the feasibility and sensitivity of environmental DNA (eDNA) assay for detection of Schistosoma japonicum cercariae, cercariae shed from S. japonicum-infected Oncomelania hupensis snail were collected,with 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and > 30 cercariae as experimental groups and 0 cercaria as the control group. After standing for 24 hours, cercariae were filtered and water samples were collected. Then, eDNA was enriched using membrane filter with 0.22 μm in pore size, and extracted using the Water DNA Isolation Kit. The Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was performed with S. japonicum mitochondrial cytochrome c coxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and 16S rRNA genes as specific primers to detect eDNA in each group. The cycle threshold (Ct value) was recorded, and the associations of Ct value with cercariae density and eDNA concentration were examined using Spearman correlation analysis. qPCR assay detected S. japonicum cercariae DNA in all experimental groups of different densities of cercariae with the primers cox1 and 16S rRNA. The DNA concentrations were 2.4, 1.0, 0.4, 1.5, 1.3, and 9.4 μg/ml, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the cercariae density significantly negatively correlated with the Ct value with the primer cox1 gene (r = -0.886, P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with the Ct value with the primer 16S rRNA gene (r = -0.771, P > 0.05). The eDNA concentration negatively correlated with the Ct value with the primer cox1 gene (r = -0.314, P > 0.05) and the primer 16S rRNA gene (r = -0.200, P > 0.05). These findings suggest that eDNA assay is feasible for detection of S. japonicum cercariae with high timeliness, which has the value for early warning of environments at a high risk of S. japonicum infections.

Key words： Schistosoma japonicum; Environmental DNA; Schistosome cercaria; Oncomelania hupensis

Cite this article

WEN Yusong , XU Hui , QIU Tingting , ZHAO Qin , LI Jie , XU Jianrui , ZENG Xiaojun , Ding Sheng , LI Zhaojun . Detection of Schistosoma japonicum cercariae using environmental DNA assay[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES, 2025 , 43(4) : 596 -599 . DOI: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2025.04.023

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