Serotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in cats (Felis domesticus) reveals predominance of type II infections in Germany.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cats are definitive hosts of Toxoplasma gondii and play an essential role in the epidemiology of this parasite. The study aims at clarifying whether cats are able to develop specific antibodies against different clonal types of T. gondii and to determine by serotyping the T. gondii clonal types prevailing in cats as intermediate hosts in Germany.

Methodology

To establish a peptide-microarray serotyping test, we identified 24 suitable peptides using serological T. gondii positive (n=21) and negative cat sera (n=52). To determine the clonal type-specific antibody response of cats in Germany, 86 field sera from T. gondii seropositive naturally infected cats were tested. In addition, we analyzed the antibody response in cats experimentally infected with non-canonical

SUBMITTER: Maksimov P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3820565 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature