Molecular Forensic Profiling of Cryptosporidium Species and Genotypes in Raw Water

Abstract

The emerging concept of host specificity of Cryptosporidium spp. was exploited to characterize sources of fecal contamination in a watershed. A method of molecular forensic profiling of Cryptosporidium oocysts on microscope slides prepared from raw water samples processed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method 1623 was developed. The method was based on a repetitive nested PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism-DNA sequencing approach that permitted the resolution of multiple species/genotypes of Cryptosporidium in a single water sample.