Two cryptosporidia species encode active creatine kinases that are not seen in other apicomplexa species

A gene encoding creatine kinase was identified in two cryptosporidia species, Cryptosporidium muris and C. andersonii. They were syntenic and shared 91% identity 94% identity at the amino acid level and nucleotide levels respectively. The C. muris creatine kinase was characterized biochemically and shown to phosphorylate both creatine and glycocyamine with a 20-fold greater preference for creatine. The observed catalytic turnover with creatine was k_cat = 30 s^-1 with a catalytic efficiency of 15.4 mM^-1 s^-1. These values were within the range observed for other creatine kinases. A search of all the apicomplexa genomes available on EuPathDB did not reveal any other phosphagen kinase genes raising the possibility of horizontal gene transfer. However, no definitive conclusion could be drawn regarding this hypothesis given the massive amount of gene loss in the apicomplexa species which are primarily parasitic species. The implications of a creatine kinase in the parasites' infection cycle are discussed.