Molecular research of Toxoplasma gondii from açaí berry samples originally from the market

• Grant number: 22/08318-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Simone Baldini Lucheis
• Grantee: Beatriz Januário Alencar
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), of the phylum Apicomplexa, an obligate intracellular parasite with worldwide distribution, which can infect mammals and birds. Warm-blooded animals are intermediate hosts and felids are the only definitive hosts, which release oocysts into the environment. Most infected people are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, such as cervical lymphadenitis and asthenia without fever, but T. gondii can neurologically impact the fetus when acquired by the mother during pregnancy. It is an extremely important zoonosis and can be transmitted orally and transplacentally. Water, soil, fruits and vegetables are the main transmission vehicles. Fruits and vegetables can be contaminated by direct exposure to felid feces or by irrigation with contaminated water. The presence of T. gondii in samples of açaí (Euterpe oleracea) represents a risk for the population, since the disease can be asymptomatic or present mild symptoms, but it can severely affect the nervous system or even cause fetal death when it is acquired by the mother, during the pregnancy. In addition, it is a challenging disease for public health, given the large number of underreporting. Therefore, we intend to investigate the occurrence of T. gondii in 50 samples of açaí ice cream, acquired in the commerce in cities of the Center-West region of the State of Sao Paulo, in order to identify the risk of contamination of these foods and carry out the spatial analysis from positive samples. The molecular techniques of conventional PCR will be used with the use of primers TOX4-TOX5 and nested PCR with the use of primers NN1-NN2 - TgNP1-TgNP2, as well as the genetic sequencing of positive samples. Spatial analysis will be used to verify the distribution of positive samples in the studied region, with the Geographic Information System (GIS) instrument, using the QGis 3.16.8 software.