Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:13:47.153Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cloning of the entire COWP gene of Cryptosporidium parvum and ultrastructural localization of the protein during sexual parasite development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 1997

F. SPANO ,
C. PURI ,
L. RANUCCI ,
L. PUTIGNANI  and
A. CRISANTI
F. SPANO
Affiliation:
Istituto di Parassitologia, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
C. PURI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Istologia e Embriologia Generale, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, Via A. Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome, Italy
L. RANUCCI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Parassitologia, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
L. PUTIGNANI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Parassitologia, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
A. CRISANTI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Parassitologia, Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy Department of Biology, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BB, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Molecular cloning and immunoelectron microscopy have been used to clone the full-length gene encoding Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst wall protein (COWP) and to analyse at the ultrastructural level the expression and localization of COWP during development in the gut. COWP is 1622 amino acids long, has a typical leader peptide and consists of 2 amino acidic domains each containing distinct repeated elements possibly originating from a common ancestral precursor. Electron microscopy localized COWP in a large cytoplasmic inclusion and in the wall-forming bodies of early and late macrogametes, respectively. Ultrastructural analysis of double-walled sporulating and mature oocysts indicated that COWP is selectively localized in the inner layer of the oocyst wall. This study provides the first localization at the ultrastructural level of a cloned coccidian oocyst wall protein.

Keywords

Cryptosporidium parvumCOWP geneimmunolocalizationmacrogameteswall-forming bodiesoocyst wall
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 114 , Issue 5 , May 1997 , pp. 427 - 437
Copyright
1997 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)