Molecular Characterization and Genetic Diversity of Haplogroup E Human Lice in Guinea, West Africa

Abstract

Pediculus humanus capitis, the head louse, is an obligate blood-sucking ectoparasite that occurs in six divergent mitochondrial clades (A, D, B, F, C and E). Several studies reported the presence of different pathogenic agents in head lice specimens collected worldwide. These findings suggest that head louse could be a dangerous vector and a serious public health problem. Herein, we aimed to study the mitochondrial genetic diversity, the PHUM540560 gene polymorphisms profile of head lice collected in Guinea, as well as to screen for their associated pathogens. In 2018, a total of 155 head lice were collected from 49 individuals at the Medicals Centers of rural (Maférinyah village) and urban (Kindia city) areas, in Guinea. Specimens were subjected to a genetic analysis and pathogens screening using molecular tools. Results showed that all head lice belonged to eight haplotypes in the E haplogroup, with six newly identified for the first time. The study of the PHUM540560 gene polymorphisms of our clade E-head lice revealed that 82.5% exhibited the same polymorphism profile as the previously reported clade A-body lice. Screening for targeted pathogens revealed the presence of Acinetobacter spp., while sequencing highlighted the presence of several species, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Acinetobacter nosocomialis, Acinetobacter variabilis, Acinetobacter towneri and for the first time Acinetobacter haemolyticus. Our study is the first to report the existence of the Guinean haplogroup E, the PHUM540560 gene polymorphism profile as well as the presence of Acinetobacter species in head lice collected from Guinea.

Molecular analysis of mitochrondrial cytb of Pediculus humanus capitis in Thailand revealed potential historical connection with South Asia

“…Co-infestations of different haplotypes as well as clades in one person were described. Therefore, interbreeding may be responsible for such connections [ 27 , 34 , 35 ]. For the collected head lice in our study, the phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clades of head lice; clade A and C ( Fig 1 ).…”

Phylogenetic Relationship Between the Endosymbiont “candidatus Riesia Pediculicola” and Its Human Lice Host

“…To assess clade diversity in human lice, the obtained cytb sequences were combined and compared with worldwide cytb data previously reported and deposited in the GenBank database [8,22]. Alignments were performed using MEGA7.0.26 software and a Maximum-Likelihood (ML) tree was constructed using the Kimura2-parameter model under 1,000 bootstrap replicates [23].…”

High Genetic Diversity and Rickettsia felis in Pediculus humanus Lice Infesting Mbuti (pygmy people), -Democratic Republic of Congo

“…In addition, the DNA of several pathogenic bacteria have been reported in head lice, including B. quintana, C. burnetii, B. recurrentis, Y. pestis, R. aeschlimannii, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Acinetobacter spp. (Piarroux et al, 2013;Drali et al, 2015;Amanzougaghene et al, 2016;Amanzougaghene et al, 2017;Candy et al, 2018;Boumbanda Koyo et al, 2019;Amanzougaghene et al, 2020b;Boumbanda-Koyo et al, 2020;Hammoud et al, 2021).…”

“…aeschlimannii, Anaplasma , Ehrlichia and Acinetobacter spp. ( Piarroux et al, 2013 ; Drali et al, 2015 ; Amanzougaghene et al, 2016 ; Amanzougaghene et al, 2017 ; Candy et al, 2018 ; Boumbanda Koyo et al, 2019 ; Amanzougaghene et al, 2020b ; Boumbanda-Koyo et al, 2020 ; Hammoud et al, 2021 ).…”