Giardia intestinalis is a globally important microbial pathogen with considerable public health, agricultural, and economic burden. Genome sequencing and comparative analyses have elucidated G. intestinalis to be a taxonomically diverse species consisting of at least eight different sub-types (assemblages A-H) that can infect a great variety of animal hosts, including humans. The best studied of these are assemblages A and B which have a broad host range and have zoonotic transmissibility towards humans where clinical Giardiasis can range from asymptomatic to diarrheal disease. Epidemiological surveys as well as previous molecular investigations have pointed towards critical genomic level differences within numerous molecular pathways and families of parasite virulence factors within assemblage A and B isolates. In this study, we explored the necessary machinery for the formation of vesicles and cargo transport in 89 Canadian isolates of assemblage A and B G. intestinalis. Considerable variability within the molecular complement of the endolysosomal ESCRT protein machinery, adaptor coat protein complexes, and ARF regulatory system have previously been reported. Here, we confirm inter-assemblage, but find no intra-assemblage variation within the trafficking systems examined. This variation includes losses of subunits belonging to the ESCRTIII as well as novel lineage specific duplications in components of the COPII machinery, ARF1, and ARFGEF families (BIG and CYTH). Since differences in disease manifestation between assemblages A and B have been controversially reported, our findings may well have clinical implications and even taxonomic, as the membrane trafficking system underpin parasite survival, pathogenesis, and propagation.

Alberta Precision Laboratories Alberta Public Health Laboratory Edmonton Alberta Canada

Division of Diagnostic and Applied Microbiology Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology University of Alberta Edmonton Canada

Division of Infectious Diseases Department of Medicine University of Alberta Edmonton Canada

Institute of Parasitology Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences České Budějovice [Budweis] Czech Republic

Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada

Women and Children's Health Research Institute University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada

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