AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 77(4), 2007, pp. 647-653
Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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*Chagas Disease
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Coexistence of Trypanosoma cruzi Genotypes in Wild and Periodomestic Mammals in Chile

Marlene Rozas, Carezza Botto-Mahan, Ximena Coronado, Sylvia Ortiz, Pedro E. Cattan, AND Aldo Solari*
Program of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, and Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

Epidemiologic evidence suggests a preferential association of Trypanosoma cruzi genotypes TCI and TCII with marsupials and placental mammals, respectively. We identify T. cruzi genotypes from 117 infected mammals. Minicircle DNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction and hybridization with a panel of four specific probes showed frequencies for the T. cruzi genotypes TCI, TCIIb, TCIId, and TCIIe of 38%, 41%, 26%, and 9%, respectively, in wild mammals. In peridomestic mammals, frequencies for the same clones were 29%, 33%, 43%, and 14%, respectively. As a whole, mixed infections are found in more than 31% of the cases, which indicates the coexistence of multiclonal strains circulating in nature, and the absence of specific associations between T. cruzi genotypes and reservoir hosts, including marsupials. The direct characterization of parasite genotypes emphasizes the importance of obtaining unbiased epidemiologic information from parasite-endemic areas. Results are discussed in the context of competition or facilitation of T. cruzi genotypes within hosts.

Received March 13, 2007. Accepted for publication June 6, 2007.

Financial support: This study was supported by FONDECYT 1040762 to Aldo Solari. Additional support was obtained from FON-DECYT 1040711 to Pedro E. Cattan and FONDECYT 3050033 to Carezza Botto-Mahan.

* Address correspondence to Aldo Solari, Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Casilla 70086, Santiago 7, Chile. E-mail: asolari{at}med.uchile.cl

Authors’ addresses: Marlene Rozas, Ximena Coronado, Sylvia Ortiz, and Aldo Solari, Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Casilla 70086, Santiago 7, Chile, Telephone: 56-2-978-6062, Fax: 56-2-735-5580, E-mail: asolari{at}machi.med.uchile.cl. Carezza Botto-Mahan, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile, Telephone: 56-2-9787232, Fax: 56-2-272-7363, E-mail: cbotto{at}uchile.cl. Pedro E. Cattan, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Casilla 2 Correo 15, Santiago, Chile, Telephone: 56-2-9785629, Fax: 56-2-9785526, E-mail: pcattan{at}uchile.cl.






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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.