Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite which imperils the health of almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans. The objective of this study was to determine genetic characterization of T. gondii in free-living Microtus fortis (reed vole) in Jilin province, northeastern China. A total of 104 DNA samples, 74 from Gongzhuling and 30 from Baicheng, were extracted from lung tissues of M. fortis, and 56 (53.8%) of them were positive for T. gondii by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction of the B1 gene. These positive DNA samples were typed at 10 genetic markers including SAG1, 5′- and 3′-SAG2, alternative SAG2, BUTB, GRA6, L358, PK1, c22-8, c29-2, and Apico. Four samples were successfully genotyped at all genetic loci and grouped to 2 distinct genotypes; 2 samples belonged to ToxoDB Genotype no. 10 (Type I) and the other 2 presented ToxoDB Genotype no. 9 ( http://toxodb.org/toxo/); 4 samples were genotyped at 8 genetic loci, in which 2 samples belonged to ToxoDB Genotype no. 10 and 2 presented ToxoDB Genotype no. 9. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetic typing of T. gondii from free-living M. fortis in northeast China. The results suggest that the Type I and ToxoDB Genotype no. 9 could be a potential risk factor for transmission through the reed vole in this region.
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1 October 2014
First Report of Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in Free-Living Microtus fortis in Northeastern China
Xiao-Xuan Zhang,
Si-Yang Huang,
Ying-Guang Zhang,
Yuan Zhang,
Xing-Quan Zhu,
Quan Liu
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Journal of Parasitology
Vol. 100 • No. 5
October 2014
Vol. 100 • No. 5
October 2014