Multiple Unique Cryptosporidium Isolates from Three Species of Ground Squirrels ( Spermophilus beecheyi , S. beldingi , and S. lateralis ) in California

Abstract
Phylogenetic analyses of the 18S small-subunit (SSU) rRNA and Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP) genes indicate that multiple unique Cryptosporidium isolates are shed by separate species of Spermophilus ground squirrels ( S. beecheyi , S. beldingi , and S. lateralis ) throughout California, despite some squirrel populations' being geographically isolated. The data support our assertion that Spermophilus squirrels shed novel Cryptosporidium species.