ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1665966
This article is part of the Research TopicZoonotic Diseases: Epidemiology, Multi-omics, and Host-pathogen Interactions Vol IIView all 9 articles
Blastocystis across humans, animals and the environment in rural Türkiye, and relationships with the human intestinal microbiome
Provisionally accepted
Eylem Akdur Öztürk1
Yaseen Al-Adilee2
William J. D. Edwards2Eleni Gentekaki3*
Anastasios D. Tsaousis2*Funda Dogruman-Al4*- 1Cukurova Universitesi Ziraat Fakultesi, Adana, Türkiye
- 2School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
- 3University of Nicosia School of Veterinary Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
- 4Gazi Universitesi Tip Fakultesi, Ankara, Türkiye
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Blastocystis is a globally prevalent intestinal protist commonly found in humans and animals, yet its role in health and disease remains ambiguous. This is a cross-sectional study of Blastocystis in rural Türkiye, examining 124 human, 305 livestock (cattle, sheep, goats), and 40 environmental samples using culture/microscopy, qPCR, and sequencing. We further explored associations between Blastocystis and population parameters, along with gut microbiota profiles. Using a combination of sequencing and microscopy the overall prevalence was high, at 76.6% in humans, 71–78% in livestock, and 38% in environmental samples. Subtypes ST1–ST4 were detected in humans, with ST3 being most frequent. Livestock harboured ST10 predominantly, with goats showing high carriage of ST24. Several subtypes (e.g., ST25, ST26) were recorded in livestock for the first time in Türkiye. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with Blastocystis colonisation, with lean individuals having higher carriage. Contrary to other studies, individuals with ST4 exhibited reduced bacterial diversity and altered microbial composition, suggesting subtype-specific interactions. By combining parasitology, microbiome, and environmental analysis, this study offers an overview of Blastocystis diversity and distribution in rural Türkiye. This work provides a foundation for future integrative research approaches to explore the ecological role of Blastocystis and its subtypes, potential health implications, and interactions with other microbes in rural and global contexts.
Keywords: Blastocystis, gut microbiome, Transmission dynamics, rural, Microbial Eukaryotes, türkiye
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Öztürk, Al-Adilee, Edwards, Gentekaki, Tsaousis and Dogruman-Al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Eleni Gentekaki, gentekaki.e@unic.ac.cy
Anastasios D. Tsaousis, tsaousis.anastasios@gmail.com
Funda Dogruman-Al, alfunda@gazi.edu.tr
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.