Study on their experimetation of gerbils living in China for infectious diseases.

为了探讨沙鼠作为人类传染病实验动物模型的可能性，我们于2001 - 2003年在中国新疆维吾尔自治区西北部（伊犁）、南部（基摩）和西部（卡舒和于阗）三次对沙鼠等野生啮齿动物进行了实地调查。调查共捕获沙鼠等10种小型啮齿动物340只，对啮齿动物进行寄生虫学检查，并采集粪便和DNA样本。对野生啮齿动物粪便进行PCR分析，发现幽门螺杆菌在野生啮齿动物中广泛存在，但幽门螺杆菌未检出。对捕获的沙鼠进行幽门螺杆菌、毛旋毛虫、棘球绦虫和婴儿利什曼原虫感染实验，观察沙鼠对感染的敏感性。为了明确中国7种沙鼠的系统发育关系，测定并比较了其线粒体细胞色素b和细胞色素c氧化酶亚基II基因的部分DNA序列。这些研究表明，子午线麻属植物存在区域差异，认为其是一个独立的种，实际上是子午线麻属植物的同义词。这些DNA序列已在基因库中登记，可为沙鼠的系统发育研究提供参考。

In order to investigate the potential use of Chinese gerbils as a laboratory animal model for human infectious diseases, we performed field surveys of wild rodents including gerbils living in the northwestern (Ily), southern (Quimo) and western (Kashu and Khotan) areas of the Xinjiang-Uygur autonomous regions of China three times between 2001 and 2003. In total, 340 small rodents of 10 species including gerbils were captured in the surveys, parasitological examinations of the rodents were performed, and fecal and DNA samples were also collected. PCR analysis using fecal samples revealed that Helicobacter spp. was widespread in wild rodents but H.pylori was not detected in any genera tested. Experimental infections of the captured gerbils with human pathogens, Helicobacter pylori, Trichinera spilaris, Echinococcus spp and Leishmania infantum were also performed to investigate sensitivity of infection in the gerbils. In order to clarify the phylogenic relationships among seven species of gerbils living in China, DNA sequences of parts of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and cylochrome c oxidase subunit II genes were determined and compared. These studies revealed that regional variations exist in Meriones meridianus and that M.chengi, which was considered as an independent species, was actually a synonym of M.meridianus. These DNA sequences registered in GenBank may contribute to the phylogenic study on gerbils world wide.