Draft Genome Sequencing of Giardia intestinalis Assemblage B Isolate GS: Is Human Giardiasis Caused by Two Different Species?

Giardia intestinalis is a major cause of diarrheal disease worldwide and two major Giardia genotypes, assemblages A and B, infect humans. The genome of assemblage A parasite WB was recently sequenced, and the structurally compact 11.7 Mbp genome contains simplified basic cellular machineries and metabolism. We here performed 454 sequencing to 16× coverage of the assemblage B isolate GS, the only Giardia isolate successfully used to experimentally infect animals and humans. The two genomes show 77% nucleotide and 78% amino-acid identity in protein coding regions. Comparative analysis identified 28 unique GS and 3 unique WB protein coding genes, and the variable surface protein (VSP) repertoires of the two isolates are completely different. The promoters of several enzymes involved in the synthesis of the cyst-wall lack binding sites for encystation-specific transcription factors in GS. Several synteny-breaks were detected and verified. The tetraploid GS genome shows higher levels of overall allelic sequence polymorphism (0.5 versus <0.01% in WB). The genomic differences between WB and GS may explain some of the observed biological and clinical differences between the two isolates, and it suggests that assemblage A and B Giardia can be two different species

Giardia duodenalis: New Research Developments in Pathophysiology, Pathogenesis, and Virulence Factors

Giardia duodenalis is a very common, ubiquitous, intestinal protozoan parasite infecting animals and humans. Of the eight distinct genetic assemblages known to date, assemblages A and B are infectious to humans. Giardia is the most commonly recognized cause of traveller’s diarrhea. Giardiasis impairs weight gain and is responsible for a variety of extra-intestinal and post-infectious complications, including post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, failure to thrive, and cognitive impairment. Giardiasis occurs in the absence of invasion of the intestinal tissues by the trophozoites and in the absence of any overt inflammatory cell infiltration, with the exception of a modest increase in intraepithelial lymphocytes and mast cells. In endemic parts of the World where the infection is often concurrent with bacterial enteritis causing inflammation-driven diarrheal disease, giardiasis appears to be protective against diarrhea. Recent observations have demonstrated that this effect may be due to a direct immuno-modulating effect of the parasite via its cathepsin B cysteine protease which cleaves pro-inflammatory CXCL8. No known toxin has yet been directly implicated in the pathophysiology of giardiasis. Diarrhea in giardiasis is mostly malabsorptive in nature, rather than hypersecretory. Findings from ongoing research indicate that the post-infectious effects of giardiasis may be due to microbiota dysbiosis induced by the parasite during the acute phase of infection.Ye