Epidemiological investigation of Entamoeba in wild rhesus macaques in China: A novel ribosomal lineage and genetic differentiation of Entamoeba nuttalli

[Display omitted] •Entamoeba nuttalli had a high degree of genetic differentiation between the host populations.•A novel ribosomal lineage of Entamoeba was identified and named RL13.•Low altitude populations of wild rhesus macaques had higher prevalence rates of Entamoeba than high altitude populations. Wild rhesus macaques are a potential source of zoonotic parasites for humans, and Entamoeba spp. are common intestinal parasites. To investigate the prevalence of Entamoeba in wild rhesus macaques in China and explore the genetic differentiation of the potentially pathogenic species Entamoeba nuttalli, a total of 276 fecal samples from five populations at high altitudes (HAG, 2,800–4,100 m above sea level) and four populations at low altitudes (LAG, 5–1,000 m above sea level) were collected. PCR methods based on the ssrRNA gene were used to detect Entamoeba infection. Genotyping of E. nuttalli was performed based on six tRNA-linked short tandem repeat (STR) loci for further genetic analyses. The results revealed that Entamoeba infection (69.2%) was common in wild rhesus macaques in China, especially in LAG which had a significantly higher prevalence rate than that in HAG (P 0.25, Nm