Targeted long-read sequencing for genetic diversity identification of the zoonotic Cryptosporidium sp.
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Cryptosporidiosis is ranked sixth in the list of the most important food-borne parasites globally, and it is an important contributor to mortality within infants and the immunosuppressed subjects. The causing agent Cryptosporidium sp. is a widespread apicomplexan protozoan exhibiting long-lasting survival rates in water and soil causing high environmental contamination which could become a source of infections for humans and livestock. Work with this parasite is challenging with increasing number of identified species within the Cryptosporidium genus. Many of its genotypes are still poorly characterized with scare correlation data either within clinical symptoms or different host manifestations.
For accurate genetic analysis we are investigating a method for generating full-length Cryptosporidium sp. SSU rRNA gene sequences using the GridION long-read sequencing platform from amplicons obtained using universal eukaryotic SSU rRNA gene primers.