2.1. Collection of faecal sample
Faecal samples were collected (October 2018 to October 2021) from ICAR- Central Institute for Research on Goats Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India (27.100N, 78.020 E and 169.2 m above MSL) at Barbari (382), Jamunapari (217) and Jakhrana (45) breeds of goats. The samples were collected from both diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic animals, confirmed by microscopy using modified Ziehl-Neelsen’s staining (mZN staining), the standard method for identification of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Also known purified positive cryptosporidial oocysts (5 x 105) were spiked to known negative faecal samples (per gram) as an internal control for assessing the workability of the various DNA extraction methods as described in the following sections.