{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:31:51Z","timestamp":1787027511113,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769644800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Cabildo de Lanzarote","award":["S2024\/13"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S2024\/13"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Free-roaming cats may contribute to zoonotic risk via parasites and other eukaryotic taxa, yet surveillance in protected island settings is limited and conventional coprology can miss low-intensity or degraded signals. We conducted a cross-sectional 18S rRNA metabarcoding survey to establish a baseline profile of potentially pathogenic eukaryotes in community cats from La Graciosa (Natura 2000, Canary Islands, Spain) prior to large-scale antiparasitic interventions. We analysed 152 faecal samples, including fresh samples collected during a high-throughput TNR campaign (n = 37) and dry environmental deposits (n = 115). Host amplification was reduced using a feline 18S blocking primer; libraries were sequenced with Oxford Nanopore technology; and taxonomy was assigned using SILVA-based classifiers with downstream filtering for veterinary\/zoonotic relevance. After quality control, 72 eukaryotic taxa were retained and DNA from at least 24 potentially pathogenic taxa was detected. Dipylidium caninum was most frequent (74.3%; 113\/152), and opportunistic fungi\/yeasts were common (e.g., Pichia kudriavzevii 42.4%, Diutina catenulata 31.5%). Zoonotic protozoa showed low-to-moderate detection frequency (Acanthamoeba castellanii 13.3%, Toxoplasma gondii 7.9%, Balamuthia mandrillaris 4.6%). Overall richness did not differ between fresh and dry samples (p &gt; 0.05), but fresh samples contained higher richness of potentially pathogenic taxa (p &lt; 0.01).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16030431","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T14:52:36Z","timestamp":1769698356000},"page":"431","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Low Zoonotic Pathogen Burden in Free-Roaming Cats Revealed by 18S rRNA Metabarcoding: A Baseline Study from an Insular Natura 2000 Site in Spain"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3440-7434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda del Mar","family":"Travieso-Aja","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera \u201cF\u00edsico\u201d s\/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3237-0316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis Alberto","family":"Henr\u00edquez-Hern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera \u201cF\u00edsico\u201d s\/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"},{"name":"Spanish Biomedical Research Center in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), Avenida Monforte de Lemos, 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-7879-7578","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elisa","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez-\u00c1lvarez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera \u201cF\u00edsico\u201d s\/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"},{"name":"Universidad Fernando Pessoa Canarias, 35450 Gu\u00eda, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8683-9522","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Quinteiro-V\u00e1zquez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Systematics Laborator (SISMOL), Aquatic One Health Research Center (iARCUS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Avda. 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