Globally diverse Toxoplasma gondii isolates comprise six major clades originating from a small number of distinct ancestral lineages.

ABSTRACT: Marked phenotypic variation characterizes isolates of Toxoplasma gondii, a ubiquitous zoonotic parasite that serves as an important experimental model for studying apicomplexan parasites. Progress in identifying the heritable basis for clinically and epidemiologically significant differences requires a robust system for describing and interpreting evolutionary subdivisions in this prevalent pathogen. To develop such a system, we have examined more than 950 isolates collected from around the world and genotyped them using three independent sets of polymorphic DNA markers, sampling 30 loci distributed across all nuclear chromosomes as well as the plastid genome. Our studies reveal a biphasic pattern consisting of regions in the Northern Hemisphere where a few, highly clonal and abundant line

SUBMITTER: Su C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3326454 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature