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Genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel reveals higher genetic variability within the type II lineage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2015

S. K. VERMA ,
D. AJZENBERG ,
A. RIVERA-SANCHEZ ,
C. SU  and
J. P. DUBEY
S. K. VERMA
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA
D. AJZENBERG
Affiliation:
Centre National de Référence (CNR) Toxoplasmose/Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center (BRC), Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire Dupuytren, Limoges 87042, France INSERM UMR 1094, Neuroépidémiologie Tropicale, Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Limoges, Limoges 87025, France
A. RIVERA-SANCHEZ
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0845, USA
C. SU
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0845, USA
J. P. DUBEY*
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA
*
*Corresponding author. USDA, ARS, APDL, BARC-East Bldg 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA. E-mail: Jitender.Dubey@ars.usda.gov
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Summary

This study compared genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel. For this, we genotyped 90 T. gondii isolates (16 from Portugal, 67 from Austria and 7 from Israel) using 10 nested PCR-restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) genetic markers and 15 microsatellite (MS) markers. By PCR-RFLP typing, 7 isolates from Portugal chickens were identified as type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3), 4 were type III (ToxoDB #2) and the remaining 4 isolates have unique genotype pattern were designated as ToxoDB #254. One mouse virulent isolate from a bovine fetus (Bos taurus) in Portugal was type I (ToxoDB #10) at all loci and designated as TgCowPr1. All 67 isolates from Austria and 7 from Israel were type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3). By MS typing, many additional genetic variations were revealed among the type II and type III isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates from the same geographical locations tend to cluster together, and there is little overlapping of genotypes among different locations. This study demonstrated that the MS markers can provide higher discriminatory power to reveal association of genotypes with geographical locations. Future studies of the type II strains in Europe by these MS markers will be useful to reveal transmission patterns of the parasite.

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondiigenotypingPCR-RFLPmicrosatellite analysisPortugalIsraelAustria
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 142 , Issue 7 , June 2015 , pp. 948 - 957
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This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015

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