Medical Microbiology

domesticandwildmammalsaremorphologicallyuniformandcorrespond

toG.intestinalis.However,thisisageneticallyheterogeneousspecies,i.e.,

itcomprisesanumberofdifferentgenotypesthatcanbedifferentiated

bymeansofisoenzymaticandDNAanalysis.Severalidenticalgenotypes

Giardiaintestinalis 479

Giardiaintestinalis:LifeCycle

Food

Water

Trophozoite

Cyst

Cyst Cyst

Cyst

Fig.9. 1 Seetextforexplanation.

9

Kayser, Medical Microbiology © 2005 Thieme