a1_Understanding of the diversity of species of Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1910 in tortoises remains incomplete due to the limited number of studies on these hosts. The aim of the present study was to characterise the genetic diversity and biology of cryptosporidia in tortoises of the family Testudinidae Batsch. Faecal samples were individually collected immediately after defecation and were screened for presence of cryptosporidia by microscopy using aniline-carbol-methyl violet staining, and by PCR amplification and sequence analysis targeting the small subunit rRNA (SSU), Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP) and actin genes. Out of 387 faecal samples from 16 tortoise species belonging to 11 genera, 10 and 46 were positive for cryptosporidia by microscopy and PCR, respectively. All samples positive by microscopy were also PCR positive. Sequence analysis of amplified genes revealed the presence of the Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I (n = 22), C. ducismarci Traversa, 2010 (n = 23) and tortoise genotype III (n = 1). Phylogenetic analyses of SSU, COWP and actin gene sequences revealed that Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I and C. ducismarci are genetically distinct from previously described species of Cryptosporidium. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I, measuring 5.8-6.9 µm × 5.3-6.5 µm, are morphologically distinguishable from C. ducismarci, measuring 4.4-5.4 µm × 4.3-5.3 µm. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I and C. ducismarci obtained from naturally infected Russian tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii Gray) were infectious for the same tortoise but not for Reeve's turtles (Mauremys reevesii [Gray]), common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis [Linnaeus]), zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata [Vieillot]) and SCID mice (Mus musculus Linnaeus)., a2_The prepatent period was 11 and 6 days post infection (DPI) for Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I and C. ducismarci, respectively; the patent period was longer than 200 days for both cryptosporidia. Naturally or experimentally infected tortoises showed no clinical signs of disease. Our morphological, genetic, and biological data support the establishment of Cryptosporidium tortoise genotype I as a new species, Cryptosporidium testudinis sp. n., and confirm the validity of C. ducismarci as a separate species of the genus Cryptosporidium., Jana Ježková, Michaela Horčičková, Lenka Hlásková, Bohumil Sak, Dana Květoňová, Jan Novák, Lada Hofmannová, John McEvoy, Martin Kváč., and Obsahuje bibliografii
a1_The emergence of cryptosporidiosis, a zoonotic disease of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract caused by Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1907, triggered numerous screening studies of various compounds for potential anti-cryptosporidial activity, the majority of which proved ineffective. Extracts of Indonesian plants, Piper betle and Diospyros sumatrana, were tested for potential anti-cryptosporidial activity using Mastomys coucha (Smith), experimentally inoculated with Cryptosporidium proliferans Kváč, Havrdová, Hlásková, Daňková, Kanděra, Ježková, Vítovec, Sak, Ortega, Xiao, Modrý, Chelladurai, Prantlová et McEvoy, 2016. None of the plant extracts tested showed significant activity against cryptosporidia; however, the results indicate that the following issues should be addressed in similar experimental studies. The monitoring of oocyst shedding during the entire experimental trial, supplemented with histological examination of affected gastric tissue at the time of treatment termination, revealed that similar studies are generally unreliable if evaluations of drug efficacy are based exclusively on oocyst shedding. Moreover, the reduction of oocyst shedding did not guarantee the eradication of cryptosporidia in treated individuals. For treatment trials performed on experimentally inoculated laboratory rodents, only animals in the advanced phase of cryptosporidiosis should be used for the correct interpretation of pathological alterations observed in affected tissue. All the solvents used (methanol, methanol-tetrahydrofuran and dimethylsulfoxid) were shown to be suitable for these studies, i.e. they did not exhibit negative effects on the subjects. The halofuginone lactate, routinely administered in intestinal cryptosporidiosis in calves, was shown to be ineffective against gastric cryptosporidiosis in mice caused by C. proliferans., a2_In contrast, the control application of extract Arabidopsis thaliana, from which we had expected a neutral effect, turned out to have some positive impact on affected gastric tissue., Andrea Valigurová, Radka Pecková, Karel Doležal, Bohumil Sak, Dana Květoňová, Martin Kváč, Wisnu Nurcahyo, Ivona Foitová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Faecal samples were collected from cats kept as pets (n = 120) and stray cats (n = 135) in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia intestinalis (Kunstler, 1882), Encephalitozoon spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi Desportes, Le Charpentier, Galian, Bernard, Cochand-Priollet, Lavergne, Ravisse et Modigliani, 1985 by PCR analysis of the small-subunit of rRNA (Cryptosporidium spp. and G. intestinalis) and ITS (microsporidia) genes. Sequence analysis of targeted genes revealed the presence of C. felis Iseki, 1979, G. intestinalis assemblage F, E. cuniculi Levaditi, Nicolau et Schoen, 1923 genotype II, and E. bieneusi genotype D. There was no correlation between the occurrence of detected parasites and sex, presence of diarrhoea or drug treatment (drug containing pyrantel and praziquantel). Compared to pet cats (7%), stray cats (30%) were statistically more frequently infected with protist parasites and overall may present a greater risk to human health., Martin Kváč, Lada Hofmannová, Ynes Ortega, Nikola Holubová, Michaela Horčičková, Marta Kicia, Lenka Hlásková, Dana Květoňová, Bohumil Sak, John McEvoy., and Obsahuje bibliografii