Giardia

Order of Presentation
Introduction

Classification of Giardia

Life Cycle of Giardia lamblia

Habitat of Giardia lamblia

Importance of knowing Giardia lamblia

Metabolism of Giardia lamblia

References
 Introduction
Giardia is a genus of anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasites that colonise and reproduce in the
small intestines of several vertebrates, causing giardiasis.

About 40 species have been described from different animals. Currently, five to six
morphologically distinct species are recognised (Meyer and Radulescu, 1979). Giardia lamblia
infect humans and other mammals, G. muris is found from other mammals, G. ardeae and G.
psittaci from birds, G. agilis from amphibians and G. microti from voles (Adam, 2001).

Giardia lamblia (syn. Giardia intestinalis, Giardia duodenalis) is a flagellated unicellular

eukaryotic microorganism that commonly causes diarrheal disease throughout the world
(giardiasis) in mammals (Barwick et. al, 1998).

Most commonly found in contaminated water supplies around the world.

G. lamblia can be distinguished from other Giardia species because it has two vertical adhesion
disks on the top of the body which allows it to attach to the hosts small intestine and retain
nutrients from the host.
 Introduction contd
Giardia lamblia

In 1681 van Leeuwenhoek, the

Father of Microbiology, observed
Giardia trophozoites in his own
stool and he described them as
animacules(Ford, 2005).

This parasite is generally tear-drop

shaped with two visible nuclei.
If you use the fine focus knob to
focus in and out on the parasite you
will be able to see the bi-lobed
adhesive disc (smiley face).
Source: Centre for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State
University, 2013
 Classification of Giardia lamblia
G. lamblia can be classified as belonging to:

Domain: Eukarya (true nuclei, as well as a nuclear membrane)

Kingdom: Protista (aquatic environment needed to survive)

Phylum: Sarcomastigophora (flagellated)

Class: Zoomastigophora (moves by using whip-bearing flagella)

Order: Diplomondida (parasitic organisms with no mitochondria or Golgi

apparatus, but instead contain mitosomes, which involve the growth of iron sulfur
proteins.
 Classification of Giardia lamblia (contd)
Family: Hexamitidae (have six or eight flagella and bilaterally
symmetrical).

Genus: Giardia (contains anaerobic parasites that feed off of and reproduce in the
small intestine of humans and other mammals. They have two stages of life, one in
which it is a swimming trophozoite and the other in which it is a cyst feeding off the
host organism.

Species: Giardia lamblia (flagellated protozoan)

 Life Cycle of Giardia lamblia
Two major stages in the life cycle. Life Cycle of G. lamblia
Infection of a host is initiated when the cyst
is ingested with contaminated water or food.
The cyst is relatively inert, allowing
prolonged survival in a variety of
environmental conditions.
After exposure to the acidic environment of
the stomach, cysts excyst into trophozoites
in the proximal small intestine.
The trophozoite is the vegetative form and
replicates in the small intestine, where it
causes symptoms of diarrhoea and
malabsorption.
After exposure to biliary fluid, some of the
trophozoites form cysts in the jejunum and
are passed in the faeces, allowing
completion of the transmission cycle by
infecting a new host.
 Habitat of Giardia lamblia
G. lamblia lives in two distinctly different habitats in its life depending on what
part of the life cycle it is in. First would be the trophozoite (vegetative) form found
in the faecal contaminated soils, streams, ponds and other sources of water
worldwide (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

When it is in its cystic lifecycle outside of the body, G. lamblia lives alongside
many other parasites and microorganisms found in faecal
matter. Since it primarily inhabits streams and bodies of water, there are many
aquatic animals living alongside the organism such as otters, beavers, and fish
(CDC, 2014).
 Importance of knowing Giardia lamblia
Why should G. lamblia be of concern?
Causes giardiasis (asymptomatic).

The cyst can survive under different environmental conditions (cold

conditions but susceptible to desiccation under direct sunlight).

Its faecal-oral root of transmission makes it a waste water treatment

problem since they must be absent.
 Metabolism of Giardia lamblia
The cyst form has a reduced metabolic rate (approximately 10~20% of the
trophozoites) (Paget et al., 1989).

The trophozoites are microaerophilic, lacks of mitochondria and relies on

cytochrome-mediated oxidative phosphorylation. They can perform aerobic and
anaerobic metabolism depending on environmental oxygen concentration,
although they predominately rely on fermentation. In addition, fermentation is
carried out even in the presence of oxygen (Adam, 2001).
 Metabolism of Giardia lamblia
Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism
The metabolic activity of the trophozoite varies on concentration of oxygen
and glucose present. When oxygen is absent, glucose metabolism is
predominant, and alanine is the major product. In the presence of oxygen,
alanine production is inhibited. When oxygen reaches a concentration of 46
M, carbon dioxide and acetate are the major products of metabolism
(Papanastasiou et al., 1997).

In G. lamblia, oxidative stress management is believed to be accomplished

by a thioredoxin reductase class of disulphide reductase, which uses cystine
as primary electron acceptor (Brown et al., 1996b).

Cytoplasmic enzyme NAD(P)H menadione oxidoreductase (DT-diaphorase)

also play a role in oxidative stress management (Sanchez et al., 2001).
 Metabolism of Giardia lamblia
Carbohydrate metabolism
Glucose is required for trophozoite growth, but not essential. It contributes to the
major source of energy derived from carbohydrates. The glucose metabolism
pathway of G. lamblia is similar to other eukaryotes, except in minor aspects such
as the conversion from Fructose-6-Phosphate to Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is
irreversible in most prokaryotes and eukaryotes, catalysed by a
phosphofructokinase, requires ATP and is regulated. However in G. lamblia, this
process is not regulated and the phosphofructokinase is not ATP-dependent,
instead, pyrophosphate-dependent (Adam, 2001).

For energy storage, there has been evidence that trophozoite uses glycogen as an
energy reserve (Ladeira et al., 2005).
 Metabolism of Giardia lamblia
Amino acid metabolism
G. lamblia is only capable of de novo synthesis of Alanine and Valine. It relies on savaging all
other amino acids from the host intestine.

The major amino acid pathways used are arginine and aspartate. The former pathway uses arginine
dihydrolase, and is present in many prokaryotes but only two eukaryotes. This pathway converts
arginine into ammonia and carbon dioxide, and generate ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation.
Ornithine, a product, is used for a membrane antiport for importation of extracellular arginine
(Edwards, 1992).

Amino acids imported are also used for osmoregulation and protection. When environmental
osmolarity drops, intracellular alanine is excreted (Nygaard et al., 1994).

The antiport involved also transport L-serine, glycine, L-threonine, L-glutamine, and L-asparagine.
Cysteine is found to play a role in protection against oxygen toxicity. Cysteine is the major source
of free-thiol groups on variable surface proteins (VSP) on the trophozoite, and this has been shown
by using radio-labeled cysteine (Aggarwal et al., 1989).
 Environmental Control of Giardia

Water: physical and chemical treatment (coagulation-flocculation,

sedimentation, filtration and disinfection) will reduce Giardia by 3+ log10
2 to 2.5 log10 by typical physical-chemical treatment
~0.5 log10 by chemical disinfection (chlorine, ozone or chlorine dioxide)
Extensive >4 log10 reductions by membrane filtration
Sewage: ~99% reductions by conventional 1o+2o sewage treatment
Infectivity of cysts in treated effluent is uncertain
Relatively resistant to chemical disinfection but relatively sensitive to
physical disinfection by UV radiation or heat
Pasteurization and thermal treatments effective for foods
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2017.
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