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Genetic structure of Trypanosoma cruzi in American continents: special emphasis on sexual reproduction in Central America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2000

H. HIGO ,
T. YANAGI ,
V. MATTA ,
T. AGATSUMA ,
A. CRUZ-REYES ,
N. UYEMA ,
C. MONROY ,
H. KANBARA  and
I. TADA
H. HIGO
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyushu University, Maidasi 3-1-1, Higashiku, Fukuoka 812–8582, Japan
T. YANAGI
Affiliation:
Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan
V. MATTA
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Carlos, Guatemala
T. AGATSUMA
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health Science, Kochi Medical School, Japan
A. CRUZ-REYES
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico
N. UYEMA
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Microbiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Martin de Porres, Peru
C. MONROY
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Carlos, Guatemala
H. KANBARA
Affiliation:
Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan
I. TADA
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyushu University, Maidasi 3-1-1, Higashiku, Fukuoka 812–8582, Japan
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Abstract

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Isozyme analysis (12 enzymes: 14 loci) was conducted on 99 isolates of Trypanosoma cruzi: 77 from Guatemala, 5 from Mexico and 17 from South American countries. Analyses of 4 population-genetic indices were undertaken to assess the possibility of genetic exchange occurring among Guatemalan isolates. The results provide evidence for a degree of genetic exchange occurring among isolates from this relatively small geographical area. Previous studies of population genetics on T. cruzi might have failed to detect this phenomenon because they tended to use isolates originating far from one another, rendering gene exchange unlikely for geographical reasons. Phylogenetic data, presented here, show considerable differences in genetic structure between Central and South American isolates, suggesting that different biological and clinical properties might be expected. For example, there are differences in clinical syndromes between Central and South America, a situation discussed further here.

Keywords

Trypanosoma cruzigenetic recombinationChagas' diseaseisozymephylogenypathogenicity
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 121 , Issue 4 , October 2000 , pp. 403 - 408
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press