Western Australian marsupials are multiply infected with genetically diverse strains of Toxoplasma gondii.

Autor: Shuting Pan, R C Andrew Thompson, Michael E Grigg, Natarajan Sundar, Andrew Smith, Alan J Lymbery
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e45147 (2012)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045147
Popis: Five different organs from 16 asymptomatic free-ranging marsupial macropods (Macropus rufus, M. fuliginosus, and M. robustus) from inland Western Australia were tested for infection with Toxoplasma gondii by multi-locus PCR-DNA sequencing. All macropods were infected with T. gondii, and 13 had parasite DNA in at least 2 organs. In total, 45 distinct T. gondii genotypes were detected. Fourteen of the 16 macropods were multiply infected with genetically distinct T. gondii genotypes that often partitioned between different organs. The presence of multiple T. gondii infections in macropods suggests that native mammals have the potential to promote regular cycles of sexual reproduction in the definitive felid host in this environment.
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