Speciation of human microsporidia by polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism

We describe the application of single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSC P) analysis to the speciation of human microsporidia after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with the panmicrosporidian primers PMP1 and P MP2. We compared the DNA extracted and amplified from different genotypes o r isolates of Enterocytozoon biencusi, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, E. hellem and E. intestinalis plus an isolate of Vittaforma corneae. The PCR-SSCP whe n performed at 20 degreesC, generated 2 bands in distinctive, reproducible patterns in polyacrylamide gels for each species of microsporidia tested, r egardless of genotype or isolate. We found PCR-SSCP to be an easy and repro ducible method for speciation of human microsporidia when the primer pair P MP I and PMP2 is used.