Blastocystis

Comprehensive Tools for Culturing Blastocystis: A Standardized Resource for Research and Diagnostics Blastocystis spp. is a widely prevalent anaerobic protozoan of uncertain pathogenicity found in the gastrointestinal tracts of over 1 billion people worldwide. Despite its potential significance in h...

New in Current Protocols! 🚨
"Comprehensive Tools for Culturing #Blastocystis": a standardised toolkit for xenic & axenic culture, media prep, cryopreservation & troubleshooting.

A @costprogramme.bsky.social Action CA21105 deliverable led by Daisy Shaw & a fantastic team.

doi.org/10.1002/cpz1...

Single-celled organisms set for greater role in gut health Long cast as villains, some protists, such as Blastocystis, are potentially beneficial to human health.

Blastocystis in @nature.com
This long-overlooked gut microbe is finally getting the spotlight it deserves.

Huge thanks to our @costprogramme.bsky.social members whose dedication helped bring Blastocystis to global attention.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
#Blastocystis #Microbiome #OneHealth

Success at our WG4 Workshop at the University of Nicosia ! Thanks to our WG4 leadership for: vet paper/animal & human microbiome reviews/OA protocols/xenic culture study/DON’Ts guide. @costprogramme.bsky.social 📸 #COSTAction #Parasitology

Great to chat with @blastocystiscost.bsky.social. They are looking for more Irish Veterinary professionals to complete their questionnaire.

Really love the unique touch of the seed paper, can't wait to try grow my own basil

We would like to thank @escmid.bsky.social 's Clinical Parasitology Group for allowing us to present our Action's goal and questionnaire under the WG1 during their meeting at #ESCMID2025 (#ESCMIDglobal) in Vienna!

If you're at #ESCMID2025 , swing by booth J21 – say hi, pick up a goodie bag, and fill out the WG1 questionnaire. Even better?

Why does it matter? Because your insights help us understand and improve #Blastocystis research across Europe and beyond.

#COSTAction #Microbiology #Parasitology

Working hard to prepare everything for your visit

Our #Blastocystis team is at Vienna for the @escmid.bsky.social conference. Please come and find us at booth J21 to answer any questions about these peculiar and controversial eukaryotic parasites. #escmid2025 #ESCMIDGlobal

Great visit of @adtsaousis.bsky.social at PreBiomics to explore collaboration on gut microbiome sequencing & discuss their involvement in our #COSTAction on #Blastocystis under One Health!

Exciting potential for advancing microbiome research together. 🔬🌍

#Microbiome #OneHealth #Collaboration

Good to see all five of you there 🙃

Great to see another successful and productive activity sponsored by our Action! #sciencewithoutborders #Blastocystis #gutmicrobiome @costprogramme.bsky.social

Meet Evren Tileklioglu, a researcher at Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Türkiye
Research on:
Investigating the clinical significance of #Blastocystis subtypes in health & disease
Developing new diagnostic & antigen production strategies for medically important parasites
#GutMicrobiome #OneHealth

Science communication best practice: OneHealthBlastocystis Meet Blastie, the plush mascot of OneHealthBlastocystis here to demystify blastocystis and its role in health and disease.

Our Action is featured by @costprogramme.bsky.social for its innovative #SciComm strategies!

From Blastie the plush mascot to interactive social media, we’re making #OneHealth & #Blastocystis research more engaging & accessible!

www.cost.eu/scicomm-oneh...

#ScienceCommunication #Microbiome

We are excited to introduce Dr. Jakub Hurych, a clinical microbiologist and postdoctoral researcher at Charles University & Motol University Hospital, Czechia.
Dr. Hurych’s research focuses on the human #gut #microbiome in chronic diseases and its interactions with #Blastocystis.

Thank you @costprogramme.bsky.social for recognising our work on science communication! We have only just started!

Meet Varol Tunalı, MD, PhD an #earlycareerresearcher in medical #parasitology at Izmir University, Turkiye.
Research Focus:
👉 Investigating the impact of #Blastocystis on human health and disease
👉Exploring clinical trials to enhance medical insights

@costprogramme.bsky.social

Meet Yaseen Majid Salman Al-Adilee, a Ph.D. student at University of Kent.
Research Focus:
🦠 Parasitic diseases under the #OneHealth perspective
🦠 Epidemiology of intestinal protozoan parasites
His work contributes to advancing our understanding of parasites & their impact on health!
#Blastocystis

Thank you @costprogramme.bsky.social for highlighting some of our recent research outputs!

Meet Elisa Piperni!

Elisa is a PhD student at @cibiocm.bsky.social, Italy 🇮🇹
Research Focus:
🦠 Gut #microbiome, diet & #cardiometabolic health
🦠 The role of #Blastocystis in host health & metabolism

Her work deepens our understanding of microbes & health!

Learn more 👉 blastocystis-cost.com

ESCMID Global ESCMID Global (formerly ECCMID): an annual congress bringing together experts and specialists in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

🚨 #Blastocystis COST Action at #ESCMIDGlobal 2025!

We’ll be in Vienna (April 11–15) 🇦🇹 with:
🎤 Talks by Aylem Akdur & Anja Godfrey (3 accepted abstracts!)
🛑 A dedicated booth—come say hi!

More details soon! 📍 www.escmid.org/congress-eve...

#OneHealth #Microbiome @costprogramme.bsky.social

Blastocystomics Blastocystis sp. is a eukaryotic gut microorganism with a questionable pathogenicity, which often makes it the subject of debate whether it should be considered a parasite or a commensal. This stramen...

A book chapter focussing on #Blastocystis #omics work was published as part of our Action and can be found here: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Meet Ana Figueiro!
This week, we’re introducing Ana, a Researcher at the Centre for Environmental & Marine Studies (CESAM), University of
Aveiro, Portugal.

🔬 Research interests:
#Blastocystis transmission dynamics
Patterns of Blastocystis subtype specificity

@costprogramme.bsky.social

New Publication Alert!
We’re excited to share our latest scoping review protocol, which explores the links between #Blastocystis and clinical outcomes, diagnostic methods, and treatments: doi.org/10.12688/ope...

#OneHealth #Microbiome #sciencewithoutborders @COSTprogramme

Check out our latest article: Update on Blastocystis: Highlights from the Fourth International Blastocystis Conference

This paper summarises key discussions and advancements from our Sept 2024 conference.

👉 open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/5-11

#Blastocystis #OneHeath

Meet Daisy Shaw!
This week, we’re introducing Daisy, a PhD student at the University of Kent, UK, working under our Action!

🔬 Research interests:
Blastocystis-microbiome interactions (multi-omics)
In vitro culturing of Blastocystis

#Blastocystis #Microbiome #OneHealth

@costprogramme.bsky.social

Check out the latest outcome from our Action:
📄 "Pitfalls in Gut Single-Cell Eukaryote Research" in @TrendsParasitol & highlights the challenges and potential of studying gut single-cell eukaryotes like #Blastocystis.
@COSTprogramme
🧬 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🌍 Proud to share that our Chair, Dr. Anastasios Tsaousis @adtsaousis.bsky.social , delivered a lecture today at 🇮🇹 Italian Society for Parasitology, highlighting Blastocystis research & our COST Action "Blastocystis under One Health" (CA21105)!
#Blastocystis #OneHealth #Parasitology #Collaboration

🚨 Meet the Early-Career Researcher Monday! 🚨

This week, we spotlight Marie Pazoutova (University of South Bohemia & University of Stavanger)!

👏 Join us in celebrating Marie’s incredible work! Learn more: blastocystis-cost.com

#Blastocystis #Microbiome #OneHealth @costprogramme.bsky.social

Dietary profiles of wild carnivores and Blastocystis occurrence: The case of the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and systematic review Recent molecular and metagenomic studies have revealed that the obligate anaerobic protist Blastocystis is found more prevalently and with higher subt…

New research supported by our COST Action:

This study explores Blastocystis prevalence in wild carnivores & the endangered Iberian lynx. Key insights into diet, microbiota, & One Health! 🐾

Read more 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#Blastocystis #OneHealth #WildlifeResearch

Kicking off 2025 with our first Meet the Members Monday! We’re excited to introduce Constance Denoyelle, a talented early-career researcher and valued member of our #Blastocystis COST Action! Constance is studying the Blastocystis life cycle and its antioxidant enzymatic machinery!