Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

J Parasitol 2013 Apr;99(2):379-82

Sequence Characterization of Heat Shock Protein Gene of Cyclospora cayetanensis Isolates from Nepal, Mexico, and Peru.

Sulaiman IM, Torres P, Simpson S, Kerdahi K, Ortega Y

We have described the development of a 2-step nested PCR protocol based on the characterization of 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) gene for rapid detection of the human-pathogenic Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. We tested and validated these newly designed primer sets by PCR amplification followed by nucleotide sequencing of PCR amplified HSP70 fragments belonging to 16 human C. cayetanensis isolates from 3 different endemic regions that include Nepal, Mexico, and Peru. No genetic polymorphism was observed among the isolates at the regions of HSP70 locus characterized. This newly developed HSP70 gene-based nested PCR protocol provides another useful genetic marker for the rapid detection of C. cayetanensis in the future.