PCR-Mediated Recombination between Cryptosporidium spp. of Lizards and Snakes

ABSTRACT: The presence or absence of genetic recombination has often been used as one of the criteria for Cryptosporidium species designation and population structure delineation. During a recent study of cryptosporidiosis in reptiles that were housed in the same room, 4 lizards were found to have concurrent infections of C. serpentis (a gastric parasite) and C. saurophilum (an intestinal parasite), and 6 snakes were concurrently infected with C. serpentis, C. sattrophitmm and a new Cryptosporidium as indicated by PCR-RFLP analysis of the SSU rRNA gene. DNA sequence analysis of cloned PCR products confirmed the diagnosis of mixed infections. Surprisingly, it appeared that 11 of the 22 clones (8 and 14 clones from a lizard and a snake, respectively) had chimeric sequences of two Cryptosporidium spp. BootScan analysis indicated the existence of recombinants among the cloned sequences and detection of the informative sites confirmed the BootScan results. Because the probability for genetic recombination between gastric and intestinal parasites is small, these hybrid sequences were likely results of PCR artifacts due to the presence of multiple templates. This was confirmed by PCR-sequencing analysis of single-copy templates using diluted DNA samples. Direct sequencing of 69 PCR products from 100-to 1.000-fold diluted DNAs from the same snake and lizard produced only sequences of C. serpentis, C. saurophilum and the unnamed Cryntosnoridium. , sp. Thus, care should be taken to eliminate PCR artifacts when determining the presence of genetic recombination or interpreting results of population genetic studies.     

Identification of a New Microsporidian Parasite Related to Vittaforma corneae in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients from Portugal

ABSTRACT. Fecal samples from 22 HIV-positive and 3 HIV-negative patients from Portugal with symptomatic diarrhea were diagnosed positive for microsporidia by microscopy, with most parasites detected significantly bigger than Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. Sequence characterization of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene identified a microsporidian parasite with 96% homology to two published Vittaforma corneae sequences. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the genetic relatedness of this new microsporidian parasite to Vittaforma corneae as well as Cystosporogenes operophterae. Results of the study demonstrate the presence of a new human-pathogenic microsporidian species, which is responsible for significant number of infections in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients in Portugal.     

Molecular Epidemiology of Cryptosporidiosis in Children in Malawi

ABSTRACT: Few studies have examined the molecular epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in developing countries. In this study, DNA of 69 microscopy-positive human fecal samples collected from Malawi were examined by multilocus genetic analyses. From 43, 27 and 28 of the samples, the SSU rRNA, 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) and 60 kDa glycoprotein (GP60) genes, respectively, were successfully PCR-amplified. Restriction analysis of the SSU PCR products showed that 41 of the 43 PCR-positive samples had C. hominis and 2 had C. parvum. Sequence analysis of the HSP70 and GP60 gene contirmed the species identification by SSU rRNA PCR-RFLP analysis, but also revealed high intraspecific variations. Altogether, six HSP70 subtypes and six GP60 subtypes (belonging to lour subtype alleles) of C. hominis were found. Linkage diseyuilibrum analysis of the two genetic loci showed possible intraspecitic recombination. Thus, cryptosporidiosis in the study area was largely caused by anthroponotic transmission. The high intraspecitic variation and existence of genetic recombination were probably results of high transmission of cryptosporidiosis in this area.     

A Multilocus Genotypic Analysis of Cryptosporidium meleagridis

ABSTRACT. Cryptosporidium meleagridis is a common cause of cryptosporidiosis in birds. In addition, recent reports have described the parasite as an etiologic agent of cryptosporidiosis in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised humans. Therefore, it is important to genetically characterize isolates of C. meleagridis from different hosts and geographic areas, and to develop molecular tools to differentiate isolates from various hosts or areas. In this study, a total of 11 isolates of Cryptosporidium meleagridis from both human and avian hosts were examined at three genetic loci: the small-subunit rRNA, 60-kDa glycoprotein precursor, and 70-kDa heat shock protein genes. Two genotypes of C. meleagridis were seen at the small-subunit rRNA locus. These differed from each other by the presence or lack of a heterogeneous copy of the gene and an ATT repeat. The 60-kDa glycoprotein precursor gene divided these eleven isolates of C. meleagridis into six genotypes with high sequence diversity between groups. The highest genetic heterogeneity, however, was seen at the 70-kDa heat shock protein locus, and was primarily present at the 3'end of the gene. This heterogeneity separated eight isolates of C. meleagridis into six genotypes. These data could be useful in the development of molecular tools to promote understanding of the transmission of C. meleagridisi in humans.     

Identification and comparative analysis of microRNAs in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus‐galli) in response to rice allelopathy

Rice allelopathy is a hot topic in the field of allelopathy, and behaviour of donor allelopathic rice has been well documented. However, few study addresses response of receiver barnyardgrass (BYG). We found that expression of miRNAs relevant to plant hormone signal transduction, nucleotide excision repair and the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor and p53 signalling pathways was enhanced in BYG co‐cultured with the allelopathic rice cultivar PI312777, the expression levels of these miRNAs in BYG plants were positively correlated with allelopathic potential of the co‐cultured rice varieties. Treatment of BYG plants with rice‐produced phenolic acids also increased miRNA expression in BYG, while treatment with rice‐produced terpenoids had no obvious effect on miRNA expression. In the hydroponic system, the largest number of Myxococcus sp. was found in the growth medium containing rice with the highest allelopathic potential. The addition of phenolic acids in the hydroponic medium also increased the number of Myxococcus sp. More interestingly, inoculation with Myxococcus xanthus significantly increased miRNA expression in the treated BYG. Jointed treatments of ferulic acid and M. xanthus led to strongest growth inhibition of BYG. The results suggest that there exist involvement of Myxococcus sp. and mediation of miRNA expression in rice allelopathy against BYG.