Identification of the Cryptosporidium isolate from chickens in Japan by sequence analyses.

The Cryptsosporidium isolate from chickens in Japan by Itakura et al. is not yet accurately identified because of several discrepancies in phenotypic features. We attempted to identify this isolate by analyzing the partial sequences of the 18S rRNA, COWP and HSP70 genes. The chicken isolate showed nearly 100% homology in each gene with C. baileyi, but less than 91% homology with C. meleagridis. In addition, these genes were classified into the same cluster with C. baileyi other than C. meleagridis by phylogenetic analysis. From these results, the Cryptosporidium isolate from chickens in Japan is considered to be one of the strains of C. baileyi.