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

We have described the development of a 2-step nested PCR protocol based on the characterization of the 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 characterized regions of the HSP70 locus. This newly developed HSP70 gene-based nested PCR protocol provides another useful genetic marker for the rapid detection of C. cayetanensis in the future.