title: Cryptosporidium fayeri: diversity within the GP60 locus of isolates from different marsupial hosts.
abstract: The highly polymorphic 60 kDa glycoprotein (GP60) of Cryptosporidium is an important tool for investigating the epidemiology of this parasite. Characterization of the GP60 gene has only been performed for 3 of the 20 known Cryptosporidium species, and has already enabled sub-typing and source tracking of species with human significance. We have characterised a fourth species, Cryptosporidium fayeri, at the GP60 locus using isolates (n=26) from different marsupial hosts to assess the diversity of GP60 within this species. The analysis demonstrated that C. fayeri isolates could be assigned to 6 subtypes which were associated with host species and locality. The intra-species diversity for the host-adapted C. fayeri was less than the diversity for human pathogenic species suggesting that the GP60 locus is under less selective pressure in these than host-adapted species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Building E8C Room 324, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. mpower@els.mq.edu.au
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: Cristel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheung-Kwok-Sang
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williamson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000469:parasitology*; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D006023:Glycoproteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins