Host-adapted Cryptosporidium and Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes in straw-colored fruit bats in Nigeria

Li, Na; Ayinmode, Adekunle B.; Zhang, Hongwei; Feng, Yaoyu; Xiao, Lihua

RFLP analysis of the SSU rRNA PCR products revealed a unique banding pattern for the Cryptosporidium spp. detected. All SSU rRNA products produced the same banding pattern, with the SspI restriction enzyme failing to digest the PCR product, while the VspI restriction enzyme producing a banding pattern that was similar to C. parvum (Fig. 2) . DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of two novel Cryptosporidium genotypes that were closely related to each other and to Cryptosporidium bat genotype II (Fig. 3) . They were named as bat genotypes XIV and XV. The former was found in five specimens while the latter was found in one specimen. They differed from each other by about 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Within Cryptosporidium bat genotype XIV, one specimen (No. 32604) produced a sequence that had one two-nucleotide insertion, one four-nucleotide deletion and one two-nucleotide deletion in two polymorphic areas of the SSU rRNA gene compared with other bat genotype XIV specimens.