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. 2023 Sep;68(3):676-682.
doi: 10.1007/s11686-023-00697-8. Epub 2023 Aug 2.

Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. Isolates from Bats in Colombia

Carlos Ramiro Silva-Ramos  1 , Juliana Noriega  1   2 , Rafael F Fajardo  1 , Sandra M Chala-Quintero  3 , Adriana Del Pilar Pulido-Villamarín  2 , Jairo Pérez-Torres  3 , Rubiela Castañeda-Salazar  2 , Claudia Cuervo  4
Affiliations

Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. Isolates from Bats in Colombia

Carlos Ramiro Silva-Ramos et al. Acta Parasitol. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium spp., frequently found in several animal species, including bats. Several Cryptosporidium genotypes have been described in bats worldwide, suggesting that bats are infected by host-specific Cryptosporidium spp. To date, there are no published reports about Cryptosporidium spp. in bats from Colombia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the presence and molecular diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. in Colombian bats.

Methods: A total of 63 gut samples from three bat species served for molecular detection of Cryptosporidium spp. 18S rDNA gene by qPCR. The sequenced amplicons were used in subsequent phylogenetic analyses to identify them as species or genotypes.

Results: Cryptosporidium spp. qPCR detection occurred in 9.5% (6/63) of bat intestines, and four sequences represented two new genotypes, called Cryptosporidium bat genotypes XIX and XX, were identified.

Conclusions: This study describes the detection of two novel Cryptosporidium bat genotypes, in two species of bats from a region of Colombia, requiring further studies to determine the relationhip between Cryptosporidium and bats in Colombia.

Keywords: Bats; Colombia; Cryptosporidium; Molecular detection.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the manuscript.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cryptosporidium spp. 18S rDNA sequence-based phylogenetic tree detected in bats. Sequences retrieved from this study are indicated by symbol: black rhombuses from C. perspicillata and black squares from N. tumidirostris. The GenBank numbers from the reference sequences are indicated. The Cryptosporidium spp. and bat genotypes are listed to the right of each branch (color figure online)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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