Identification of aneuploidy events in Trypanosoma cruzi

• Grant number: 17/23086-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: José Franco da Silveira Filho
• Grantee: Natália Agnes Almeida Viana
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/15000-4 - Trypanosoma cruzi: intra and interspecific genomic variability and mechanisms of cell invasion/egress, AP.TEM

Abstract

Trypanosoma cruzi is a parasitic protozoan that shows remarkable genetic variability among strains and clones derived from the same strain, with significant differences in the genotypic and phenotypic traits, such as infectivity and pathogenicity patterns, as well as variations in the molecular karyotype. These changes may play an important role in the adaptive response in different hosts, mammalian and insect vectors. Several studies indicate the occurrence of aneuploidy in T. cruzi, even though it is considered a diploid organism. Evidence obtained from microarray comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and new generation sequencing (NSG) showed the presence of chromosomes with different ploidy (monosomic to tetrasomic) in the same population. Data from our laboratory also demonstrated the presence of segmentar aneuploidy in T. cruzi, more specifically between the parental strain G and clone D11. Aneuploidy may be an important factor in generating genetic variability in T. cruzi, an organism that reproduces asexually and shows a predominant clonal evolution. The objective of this project is to identify aneuploid events in T. cruzi by the FISH technique using specific chromosome markers of the chromosomes in silico TcChr 21 and TcChr 24 of clone CL Brener. FISH technique allows the evaluation of ploidy in an individual cell, and therefore, will be used here to investigate the presence of aneuploidy the cell population. It is expected with this analysis to verify the presence of aneuploidy in the chromosomes TcChr 21 e TcChr 24 of clone CL Brener. (AU)