# Tool for studying essential gene function in Cryptosporidium parvum

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2020 · $198,250

## Abstract

Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes diarrheal disease (cryptosporidiosis) and deaths in young
children, and immunocompromised individuals such as HIV/AIDS patients and transplant recipients. Recent
global epidemiological studies report that Cryptosporidium is the second leading pathogen after rotavirus to
cause life-threatening diarrhea in infants and toddlers. Recurrent episodes of Cryptosporidium infection are
associated with chronic malnutrition, growth stunting and impaired cognitive development in young children. The
infection occurs through ingestion of water and food contaminated with oocysts. Since these ‘spore-like’ oocysts
are resistant to standard disinfection procedures, waterborne outbreaks are very common and reported
worldwide. Infact, Cryptosporidium is responsible for 50% of disease outbreaks linked to recreational water use
in the US. There are no effective drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent cryptosporidiosis. The only FDA approved
drug, Nitazoxanide provides little to no relief to young children or HIV/AIDS patients that need it the most.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs and vaccines to reduce the burden of cryptosporidiosis.
To discover novel therapeutics, it is crucial to dissect Cryptosporidum biology and identify its “Achilles heel”.
Currently, there is very limited understanding of parasite biology due to lack of methods to continuously culture
Cryptosporidum in the laboratory, poor animal models, and lack of molecular tools to genetically modify this
pathogen. Recently, we have developed a robust technology to genetically manipulate C. parvum, and an animal
infection model to propagate these parasites, thus providing an exciting opportunity to answer fundamental
questions regarding parasite biology, virulence and disease pathogenesis. Despite these advances, we are still
lacking tools to study genes essential for parasite survival, since deleting these genes would be lethal to the
parasite. Thus, the goal of this project is to apply our expertise in molecular genetics and develop a powerful
conditional protein degradation tool to unravel the function of essential genes in Cryptosporidium. Elucidation of
the function of essential genes throughout the parasite lifecycle would ultimately lead to the development of
novel drugs and vaccines to treat cryptosporidiosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9858263
- **Project number:** 5R21AI142380-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** Sumiti Vinayak Alam
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $198,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9858263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9858263, Tool for studying essential gene function in Cryptosporidium parvum (5R21AI142380-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9858263. Licensed CC0.

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