Animal Husbandry and Feed Science ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 116-121.doi: 10.12160/j.issn.1672-5190.2024.02.015

• Animal Disease Prevention and Control • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Infection Status and Species Identification of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian Camels in Large-scale Farms in Kalpin County

CHUAI Liwen, YANG Bin, CAO Mengya, QI Meng, HE Yongqiang, SI Junfei, JING Bo, ZHANG Zhenjie   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology,Tarim University,Aral 843300,China
  • Received:2024-02-11 Online:2024-03-30 Published:2024-05-06

Abstract: [Objective] This study was conducted to understand the infection status and species distribution of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian camels in large-scale farms in Kalpin County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [Method] A total of 516 fecal samples were collected from 6 large-scale Bactrian camel farms in 4 townships or towns of Kalpin County, and were then subjected to genomic DNA extraction. PCR assay was carried out targeting the SSU rDNA of Cryptosporidium. After sequence alignment analysis, Cryptosporidium species were identified. The χ2 test was used to statistically compare the infection rates of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian camels among different farms. DNA samples identified as Cryptosporidium parvumC. parvum) positive were used to perform PCR assay targeting the gp60 gene. C. parvum subtypes were determined following sequencing alignment analysis. [Result] Out of the 516 fecal DNA samples of Bactrian camels, 34 samples were positive for Cryptosporidium, with an overall infection rate of 6.59% (34/516). The NO.2 farm in Aqial Town had the highest infection rate of 9.57% (9/94). There were statistically significant differences (χ2=5.497, P<0.05) in the infection rates of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian camels from different farms. Three species of Cryptosporidium, including Cryptosporidium andersonin=29), Cryptosporidium rat genotype Ⅳ (n=1) and C. parvumn=4), were identified in the 34 samples positive for Cryptosporidium by the comparison analysis on SSU rDNA sequence. In addition, the 4 samples positive for C. parvum were identified as subtypeⅠd-like-A21 by the comparison analysis on the gp60 gene sequence, exhibiting unique genetic evolution characteristic. [Conclusion] A low infection rate of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian camels in Kalpin County was observed, and the subtype of the infected C. parvum was unique. The results obtained in this study offered fundamental data for characterizing the species distribution and genetic evolution of Cryptosporidium in Bactrian camels in China.

Key words: Cryptosporidium, infection, species identification, Bactrian camel

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