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Moving towards an integrated approach to molecular detection and identification of Toxoplasma gondii

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2009

C. SU ,
E. K. SHWAB ,
P. ZHOU ,
X. Q. ZHU  and
J. P. DUBEY
C. SU*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
E. K. SHWAB
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
P. ZHOU
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
X. Q. ZHU
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
J. P. DUBEY
Affiliation:
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Microbiology, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37966, USA. Tel: +865 974 4015. Fax: +865 974 4007. E-mail: csu1@utk.edu
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Summary

The development of simple, sensitive and rapid methods for the detection and identification of Toxoplasma gondii is important for the diagnosis and epidemiological studies of the zoonotic disease toxoplasmosis. In the past 2 decades, molecular methods based on a variety of genetic markers have been developed, each with its advantages and limitations. The application of these methods has generated invaluable information to enhance our understanding of the epidemiology, population genetics and phylogeny of T. gondii. However, since most studies focused solely on the detection but not genetic characterization of T. gondii, the information obtained was limited. In this review, we discuss some widely used molecular methods and propose an integrated approach for the detection and identification of T. gondii, in order to generate maximum information for epidemiological, population and phylogenetic studies of this key pathogen.

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondiigenetic characterizationmolecular detection and identification
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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References

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