Phylogenetics and Pathogenicity of Balantioides coli Isolates in Vietnamese Weaned Pigs

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the diversity of Balantioides coli ( B. coli ) based on the 18S rDNA of isolates collected from weaned pigs with diarrhea and then select a B. coli isolate to determine its pathogenicity in weaned pigs through experimental infection. Methods The genetic analysis of field-isolated B. coli strains was based on sequencing of the partial 18S rDNA genetic fragment and the pathogenicity of an isolate of B. coli (DN2018-2-DTD) was identified through an experimental infection. Results The fourteen B. coli isolates shared 98.47–100% nucleotide similarity and were divided into two clades in a phylogenetic tree. In an infection experiment, a slight increase in the body temperature was identified in two infected groups as compared to that in the control group ( P < 0.05) from days post-infection (dpi) 12–18 and from dpi 20–27. In the group infected with 3000 CPG/TPG, 2/9 pigs started to develop diarrhea on day two. In the group infected with 500 CPG/TPG, 8/9 pigs had diarrhea on dpi 3. Trophozoites/cysts of B. coli were firstly detected in feces on dpi 3 in a group of pigs infected with a dose of 3000 CPG/TPG, and CPG/TPG reached its peak at dpi 5 in both groups of infected pigs (35,450 and 13,250 CPG/TPG). There was a significant difference in the bodyweight of the control group (noninfected) as compared to that of the groups of infected pigs on dpi 7 ( P < 0.05), 14 ( P < 0.001) and 28 ( P < 0.01). Lesions were solely recorded in infected pigs, including white ulcerative nodules with necrosis scattered in the mucosa of the colon and cecum on dpi 7, 14, and 28. Conclusion This is the first study to investigate the pathogenicity of B. coli in Vietnamese pigs to demonstrate that B. coli could induce necrotic ulcerative enteritis and diarrhea in weaned pigs.