Natural populations of Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, have a complex multiclonal structure
The authors have studied 15 gene loci coding for enzymes in 121 Trypanosoma cruzi stocks from a wide geographic range - from the US and Mexico to Chile and southern Brazil. T.cruzi is diploid but reproduction is basically clonal, with very little if any sexuality remaining at present. They have identified 43 different clones by their genetic composition; the same genetic clone is often found in very distant places and in diverse hosts. There is much genetic heterogeneity among the different clones, and they cannot be readily classified into a few discrete groups that might represent natural taxa. These findings imply that the biological and medical characteristics need to be ascertained separately for each natural clone. The evidence indicates that clonal evolution is very ancient in T.cruzi. The authors propose two alternative hypotheses concerning the relationship between the biochemical diversity and the heterogeneity in other biological and medical characteristics of T. cruzi. One hypothesis is that the degree of diversity between strains simply reflects the time elapsed since their last common ancestor. The second hypothesis is that biological and medical heterogeneity is recent and reflects adaptation to different transmission cycles. A decision between the two hypotheses can be reached with appropriate studies, with important medical consequences.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 6157471
- Journal Information:
- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States), Vol. 83:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ENZYMES
BIOCHEMISTRY
TRYPANOSOMA
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
AMINOPEPTIDASES
BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
CLONING
ELECTROPHORESIS
GENETICS
HEMIACETAL DEHYDROGENASES
ISOENZYMES
ISOMERASES
REPRODUCTION
SH-PROTEINASES
TRYPANOSOMIASIS
BIOLOGY
CHEMISTRY
DISEASES
HYDROLASES
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
MASTIGOPHORA
OXIDOREDUCTASES
PARASITES
PARASITIC DISEASES
PEPTIDE HYDROLASES
VARIATIONS
550200* - Biochemistry