title: Molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium isolates from pet reptiles.
abstract: In this study, we investigated the presence of Cryptosporidium in 171 faecal samples from reptiles commonly used as pet animals. These include lizards belonging to the genera Eublepharis, Pogona, Chlamydosaurus, Hemiteconyx, Teratoscincus, Tiliqua, Iguana, and Chamaeleo, snakes of the genera Lampropeltis, Elaphe, Python, Boa and Corallus, and tortoises belonging to the genera Testudo and Kinixys. Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected by immunofluorescence using a commercially available kit and cryptosporidial DNA by amplification of a polymorphic fragment of the 18S rDNA and the HSP70 locus. Cryptosporidium was detected in 38.6% and 25.1% of the samples analysed by immunofluorescence and PCR, respectively. Molecular characterisation of the isolates confirmed that C. serpentis and C. varanii (syn. C. saurophilum) are the main species involved in infection in pet reptiles but also showed the presence of C. parvum and C. muris, as well as other species or genotypes of this parasite including the Cryptosporidium mouse genotype and Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype previously described in reptiles. In addition, a Cryptosporidium sp. was isolated from a chameleon and a python.
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040-Madrid, Spain. spedraza@vet.ucm.es
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pedraza-Díaz
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ortega-Mora
authors.forename: Beatriz A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Carrión
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez-Bautista
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001483:Base Sequence; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000662:veterinary; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D033661:Oocysts; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012104:Reptiles / Q000469:parasitology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S