Diversity of Cryptosporidium in common voles and description of Cryptosporidium alticolis sp. n. and Cryptosporidium microti sp. n. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiidae)

• Published in: Parasitology Vol. 146; no. 2; pp. 220 - 233
• Main Authors: Horčičková, Michaela, Čondlová, Šárka, Holubová, Nikola, Sak, Bohumil, Květoňová, Dana, Hlásková, Lenka, Konečný, Roman, Sedláček, František, Clark, Mark, Giddings, Catherine, McEvoy, John, Kváč, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Actin; Adults; Animals; Arvicolinae - parasitology; Base Sequence; Chickens; Cryptosporidiosis - epidemiology; Cryptosporidiosis - parasitology; Cryptosporidiosis - transmission; Cryptosporidium; Cryptosporidium - classification; Cryptosporidium - genetics; Cryptosporidium - ultrastructure; Czech Republic; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA polymerase; DNA, Protozoan - chemistry; DNA, Protozoan - genetics; DNA, Protozoan - isolation & purification; Feces; Feces - parasitology; Female; Gastrointestinal Tract - parasitology; Gastrointestinal Tract - pathology; Gastrointestinal Tract - ultrastructure; Genetic Variation; Genotypes; Heat shock proteins; Infections; Laboratories; Large intestine; Male; Meadows; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Microscopy, Interference; Murinae; New species; Oocyst wall protein; Oocysts; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Rats; RNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Rodent Diseases - epidemiology; Rodent Diseases - parasitology; Rodent Diseases - transmission; Rodents; rRNA; Sequence Alignment - veterinary; Small intestine; Studies; Czech Republic; United States > US; North Dakota; molecular analyses; phylogeny; Experimental infection; voles; oocyst size; Rodentia
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182018001142

Fecal samples from wild-caught common voles (n = 328) from 16 locations in the Czech Republic were screened for Cryptosporidium by microscopy and PCR/sequencing at loci coding small-subunit rRNA, Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein, actin and 70 kDa heat shock protein. Cryptosporidium infections were detected in 74 voles (22.6%). Rates of infection did not differ between males and females nor between juveniles and adults. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of eight Cryptosporidium species/genotypes including two new species, C. alticolis and C. microti. These species from wild-caught common voles were able to infect common and meadow voles under experimental conditions, with a prepatent period of 3–5 days post-infection (DPI), but they were not infectious for various other rodents or chickens. Meadow voles lost infection earlier than common voles (11–14 vs 13–16 DPI) and had significantly lower infection intensity. Cryptosporidium alticolis infects the anterior small intestine and has larger oocysts (5.4 × 4.9 µm), whereas C. microti infects the large intestine and has smaller oocysts (4.3 × 4.1 µm). None of the rodents developed clinical signs of infection. Genetic and biological data support the establishment of C. alticolis and C. microti as separate species of the genus Cryptosporidium.