Authors

M SABIR¹; R Low⁴; P Pinto²; A Tsaousis4³; GR Hurle¹; KM Tyler¹; N Hall⁴;  ¹ University of East Anglia, UK;  ² University of Kent , UK;  ³ University of Edinburgh, UK;  ⁴ Earlham Institute, UK

Discussion

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite and is the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis in humans and animals. Symptoms of the infection may include abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea or may also be asymptomatic. Agricultural losses globally due to Cryptosporidium infection in cattle amount to several billion dollars. The severity of infection depends on many factors, including host immunity. Here, the impact of the gut microbiome on infection was studied. The gut microbiome is the community of bacteria resident in the digestive system. Ruminants including cattle have a stomach with four compartments specialised for pre-gastric digestion. It has previously been demonstrated that specific alterations in the bovine microbiome can facilitate growth of cryptosporidial parasites. Therefore, cryptosporidiosis can lead to long-term dysbiosis of the gut. It has been reported that infections with C. parvum are associated with changes in the microbiota as well as a shift in metabolites in the host gut.