Population structure of Toxoplasma gondii in Brazil using microsatellite analysis and sequence analysis of introns

• Grant number: 13/02416-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: June 05, 2013
• End date: July 05, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Hilda Fátima de Jesus Pena
• Grantee: Hilda Fátima de Jesus Pena
• Host Investigator: Marie-Laure Darde
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université de Limoges, France

Abstract

Studies on Brazilian isolates of Toxoplasma gondii suggest recombination plays an important role in strain diversification in this country. Toxoplasma gondii isolates from South America have been genetically characterised using 10 to 12 PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) markers. It is highly desirable to use markers with high discriminatory power for epidemiological studies in which the objective is to track the source of infection and/or the pathogen transmission routes. The results obtained with microsatellite markers for multilocus genotyping of T. gondii strains suggest that this marker has a level of resolution that is superior to PCR-RFLP. In this project we aim to genotype 165 T. gondii strains from domestic and wild animals in Brazil which had already typed by means of PCR-RFLP multilocus analysis, but using more powerful markers. The samples will be typed by multilocus microsatellite analysis and sequence analysis of a set of five genes introns. We will investigate the population structure of T. gondii focusing the following issues: the diversity of strains and groups, the existence of geographical and/or host adapted subpopulations and the extent of gene flow between these populations. (AU)