title: Natural infection of Cryptosporidium muris in ostriches (Struthio camelus).
abstract: A total of 303 fecal samples were collected from ostriches (Struthio camelus) and 31 samples (10.2%) were Cryptosporidium-positive upon microscopic analysis. The infection rate was 27.6% in ostriches aged 16-60 days, 1.2% in those aged 61-180 days, and 20.4% in those aged >10 years. The Cryptosporidium-positive isolates were genotyped with a restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA sequence analysis of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. The 22 isolates from ostriches aged >10 years were identified as Cryptosporidium muris, whereas the nine isolates from ostriches <180 days were Cryptosporidium baileyi. Ten of the 22 C. muris isolates were analyzed based on the actin and HSP70 genes, and the results were identical to those observed for the SSU rRNA gene. Cross-transmission studies demonstrated that the C. muris isolate infected BALB/c mice and Mongolian gerbils, but did not infect chickens. C. muris isolated in this study appears to be host-adapted, consistent with a previous multilocus sequence typing analysis. Further studies are required to understand the prevalence and transmission of Cryptosporidium spp. in ostriches in different geographic areas.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China.
authors.forename: Rongjun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China.
authors.forename: Junqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450002, PR China. Electronic address: zhanglx8999@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Longxian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing / Q000662:veterinary; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D020310:Struthioniformes / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins
keywords: Actin; Cross-transmission; Cryptosporidium muris; HSP70; Ostrich; SSU rRNA