Original title: Giardia intestinalis in the intestinal ecosystem of gut-healthy humans and animals
Authors: BROŽOVÁ, Kristýna
Document type: Doctoral theses
Year: 2026
Language: eng
Abstract: Annotation This dissertation investigates the opportunistic intestinal protist Giardia intestinalis, with a focus on its occurrence in gut-healthy human and animal populations. Although Giardia is traditionally considered a pathogen, increasing evidence indicates that it may also occur in hosts without clinical symptoms. Using quantitative PCR and sequencing approaches, this work examines the prevalence and assemblage diversity of Giardia in gut-healthy human populations from industrialized and rural settings, in closely associated animals, and in non-human primates and their caregivers in Czech zoos. Across the studied populations, Giardia was repeatedly detected, often at low fecal loads, which limited genotyping success and suggests that its prevalence may be underestimated by less sensitive methods. The dissertation further explores associations between Giardia and the gut microbiome. In the Romanian human-dog cohort, Giardia positivity was associated with higher bacterial alpha diversity and lower beta diversity, suggesting subtle differences in gut microbiome structure rather than major compositional disruption. Overall, this work supports a more nuanced view of G. intestinalis as a medically important protist whose role in the gut may depend on host context, environmental exposure, and microbial community structure.
Keywords: Giardia intestinalis; gut-healthy; microbiome; prevalence
Citation: BROŽOVÁ, Kristýna. Giardia intestinalis in the intestinal ecosystem of gut-healthy humans and animals. České Budějovice, 2026. disertační práce (Ph.D.). JIHOČESKÁ UNIVERZITA V ČESKÝCH BUDĚJOVICÍCH. Přírodovědecká fakulta

Institution: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (web)
Document availability information: Fulltext is available in the Digital Repository of University of South Bohemia.
Original record: http://www.jcu.cz/vskp/69499

Permalink: http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-781023


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Universities and colleges > Public universities > University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Academic theses (ETDs) > Doctoral theses