*Article Cryptosporidium* **Species and** *C. parvum* **Subtypes in Farmed Bamboo Rats**

**Falei Li 1,2, Wentao Zhao 1, Chenyuan Zhang 1, Yaqiong Guo 1, Na Li 1, Lihua Xiao 1,2,\* and Yaoyu Feng 1,2,\***


**\*** Correspondence: lxiao@scau.edu.cn (L.X.); yyfeng@scau.edu.cn (Y.F.)

Received: 6 November 2020; Accepted: 1 December 2020; Published: 2 December 2020

**Abstract:** Bamboo rats (*Rhizomys sinensis*) are widely farmed in Guangdong, China, but the distribution and public health potential of *Cryptosporidium* spp. in them are unclear. In this study, 724 fecal specimens were collected from bamboo rats in Guangdong Province and analyzed for *Cryptosporidium* spp. using PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit rRNA gene. The overall detection rate of *Cryptosporidium* spp. was 12.2% (88/724). By age, the detection rate in animals under 2 months (23.2% or 13/56) was significantly higher than in animals over 2 months (11.2% or 75/668; χ<sup>2</sup> = 6.95, *df* = 1, *p* = 0.0084). By reproduction status, the detection rate of *Cryptosporidium* spp. in nursing animals (23.1% or 27/117) was significantly higher than in other reproduction statuses (6.8% or 4/59; χ<sup>2</sup> = 7.18, *df* = 1, *p* = 0.0074). Five *Cryptosporidium* species and genotypes were detected, including *Cryptosporidium* bamboo rat genotype I (*n* = 49), *C. parvum* (*n* = 31), *Cryptosporidium* bamboo rat genotype III (*n* = 5), *C. occultus* (*n* = 2), and *C. muris* (*n* = 1). The average numbers of oocysts per gram of feces for these *Cryptosporidium* spp. were 14,074, 494,636, 9239, 394, and 323, respectively. The genetic uniqueness of bamboo rat genotypes I and III was confirmed by sequence analyses of the 70 kDa heat shock protein and actin genes. Subtyping *C. parvum* by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene identified the presence of IIoA15G1 (*n* = 20) and IIpA6 (*n* = 2) subtypes. The results of this study indicated that *Cryptosporidium* spp. are common in bamboo rats in Guangdong, and some of the *Cryptosporidium* spp. in these animals are known human pathogens.

**Keywords:** *Cryptosporidium parvum*; subtype; bamboo rat; human pathogen
