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Morphologic, host specificity, and molecular characterization of a Hungarian Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolate.

ABSTRACT: This study was undertaken in order to characterize Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolated from a turkey in Hungary and to compare the morphologies, host specificities, organ locations, and small-subunit RNA (SSU rRNA) gene sequences of this organism and other Cryptosporidium species. The phenotypic differences between C. meleagridis and Cryptosporidium parvum Hungarian calf isolate (zoonotic genotype) oocysts were small, although they were statistically significant. Oocysts of C. meleagridis were successfully passaged in turkeys and were transmitted from turkeys to immunosuppressed mice and from mice to chickens. The location of C. meleagridis was the small intestine, like the location of C. parvum. A comparison of sequence data for the variable region of the SSU rRNA gene of C. meleagridis isolated from turkeys with other Cryptosporidium sequence data in the GenBank database revealed that the Hungarian C. meleagridis sequence is identical to a C. meleagridis sequence recently described for a North Carolina isolate. Thus, C. meleagridis is a distinct species that occurs worldwide and has a broad host range, like the C. parvum zoonotic strain (also called the calf or bovine strain) and Cryptosporidium felis. Because birds are susceptible to C. meleagridis and to some zoonotic strains of C. parvum, these animals may play an active role in contamination of surface waters not only with Cryptosporidium baileyi but also with C. parvum-like parasites.

SUBMITTER: Sreter T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91889 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Morphologic, host specificity, and molecular characterization of a Hungarian Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolate.

Sréter T T Kovács G G da Silva A J AJ Pieniazek N J NJ Széll Z Z Dobos-Kovács M M Márialigeti K K Varga I I

Applied and environmental microbiology 20000201 2

This study was undertaken in order to characterize Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolated from a turkey in Hungary and to compare the morphologies, host specificities, organ locations, and small-subunit RNA (SSU rRNA) gene sequences of this organism and other Cryptosporidium species. The phenotypic differences between C. meleagridis and Cryptosporidium parvum Hungarian calf isolate (zoonotic genotype) oocysts were small, although they were statistically significant. Oocysts of C. meleagridis were ...[more]

PMID: 10653744

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Project description:BackgroundCryptosporidium is a key genus of parasitic protists that infect humans and other vertebrates (mammals and birds). Birds are typically infected with C. avium, C. baileyi, C. galli and/or C. meleagridis, the latter of which is recognised as being zoonotic. Stimulated by the previous finding of C. meleagridis subtypes IIIbA21G1R1, IIIbA22G1R1 and IIIbA26G1R1 in diarrhoeic children in Wuhan city and environs in Hubei Province, China, we performed a molecular epidemiological survey to explore whether these or similar subtypes might occur in farmed chickens in this province.MethodsPCR-coupled sequencing analyses of regions in the small subunit (SSU) of the nuclear ribosomal RNA and 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes were utilised to characterise Cryptosporidium in faecal samples from chickens (n = 471) from 14 farms from six distinct regions in Hubei Province.ResultsCryptosporidium baileyi (33/471; 7.0%) and C. meleagridis (15/471; 3.2%) were identified in chickens on eight farms in five of the six distinct geographical regions. No significant age-associated difference in the prevalence of C. baileyi was evident, whereas the prevalence of C. meleagridis was significantly higher in younger (≤ 4 months) than in older chickens (> 4 months). For C. meleagridis, two subtype families, IIIb and IIIe, were defined; some of the subtypes (i.e. IIIbA26G1R1b and IIIbA22G1R1c) characterised here matched those identified previously in diarrhoeic children in Wuhan.ConclusionsThis is the first molecular study reporting the genetic identity and prevalence of C. baileyi and C. meleagridis in chickens in Hubei. The findings suggest that C. meleagridis subtypes IIIbA26G1R1b and IIIbA22G1R1c are cross-transmissible between chickens and humans, raising awareness about the significance of birds as potential reservoirs of zoonotic variants of Cryptosporidium. Future studies might focus on investigating the prevalence of 'zoonotic' subtypes of Cryptosporidium meleagridis in various species of wild and domesticated birds, and on comparing them with those found in humans in China and other countries.

Dataset Information

Morphologic, host specificity, and molecular characterization of a Hungarian Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolate.

Publications

Morphologic, host specificity, and molecular characterization of a Hungarian Cryptosporidium meleagridis isolate.

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