First Molecular Characterisation of Blastocystis from Experimental Rats in Turkey and Comparison of the Frequencies Between Obese and Non-obese Groups/Türkiye'de Ilk Kez Kemirgenlerde Blastocystis'in Moleküler Karakterizasyonu ve Obez/Non-obez Ratlarda Yayginliginin Karsilastirilmasi

Objective: Blastocystis is a zoonotic protozoan that infects a wide range of animals, including humans and rodents. This study aimed to determine the frequency and subtype distribution of Blastocystis in laboratory rats at a laboratory animal facility in Turkey. Methods: This study included 54 male Sprague-Dawley rats from Aydin Adnan Menderes University Laboratory Animal Center. Among these rats, 30 were fed with high-fat diet (obese group) and the remaining 24 received standard chow (non-obese group). Blastocystis positivity was determined with amplification of small subunit 18S rRNA gene following their nucleic acid extraction from faecal samples. Subtypes were detected by submitting the partial 18S rRNA gene sequences to the database (pubmlst. org/blastocystis). The phylogenetic tree from evolutionary distance data was constructed using the neighbour-joining method. Results: Blastocystis infection was detected in 33 (61.1%) of 54 laboratory rats. The frequency of Blastocystis was significantly different between obese and non-obese rats (p