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Molecular phylogeny of Trypanosoma cruzi from Central America (Guatemala) and a comparison with South American strains

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Abstract

Molecular phylogenetic analysis was carried out for 21 strains of Trypanosoma cruzi, nine of which were obtained from Guatemala and 12 from South America. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the nucleotide sequences of two nuclear gene regions, dihydrofolate reductase–thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) and trypanothione reductase (TR), and contiguous portions of two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1). Possible genetic exchange between the rather divergent lineages of T. cruzi II from South America was suggested in the trees of the two nuclear genes. T. cruzi I strains obtained from Guatemala and Colombia were identical in all the genes examined, but other T. cruzi I isolates from South America were rather polymorphic in the DHFR-TS and mitochondrial genes. No genetic exchange was identified between T. cruzi I populations from Central and South America in the present study.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan and the Japan Society of Promotion of Science to T.A. (16659113, 16406010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Science, Kochi University School of Medicine, Oko, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8505, Japan

    M. Iwagami & T. Agatsuma

  2. Department of Parasitology, Kyushu University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan

    H. Higo & I. Tada

  3. Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Keio University School Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    S. Miura

  4. Department of Protozology, Institute Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

    T. Yanagi

  5. Department of Appropriate Technology Development and Transfer, Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan

    M. Iwagami & S. Kano

Authors
  1. M. Iwagami
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  2. H. Higo
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  3. S. Miura
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  4. T. Yanagi
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  5. I. Tada
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  6. S. Kano
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  7. T. Agatsuma
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Correspondence to T. Agatsuma.

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Iwagami, M., Higo, H., Miura, S. et al. Molecular phylogeny of Trypanosoma cruzi from Central America (Guatemala) and a comparison with South American strains. Parasitol Res 102, 129–134 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0739-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0739-9

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