Glycolytic enzyme activities in Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts

Oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum were obtained from an experimentally infected newborn goat. After purification, the oocysts were homogenised and the activities of the glycolytic enzymes measured in the different subcellular fractions. All of the activities of the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway were located in the non-sedimentable, cytoplasmic fraction. Under the conditions used, hexokinase activity was below the limits of detection. The pathway is also characterised by the presence of a pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase and a carbon dioxide-fixing cycle comprising phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) activities. The data presented in this paper suggest that the infective stage of this parasite probably relies on substrate-level phosphorylation for energy generation.