Development of dot-blot hybridization based on 522 bp repetitive sequence ( R522) for detection of Toxoplasma gondii.

摘要

Toxoplasmosis, arising from infection by Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common parasitic diseases in humans and other warm-blooded animals. In humans, infections are usually asymptomatic but severe disease can occur in immunocompromized individuals and newborns. Due to the importance of the disease and in order to take suitable measures, an early diagnosis of the disease is essential, particularly for pregnant women and in industry of domestic animals. The genome of T. gondii contains repeat sequences B1 and R522 which constitute ideal targets for genome-based detection methods. The 522 base pairs repeat sequences R522 are the most promising due to the high copy number, evaluated to be 200 to 300 units within the genome. We developed a simple dot-blot hybridization based on R522 sequences. The method is simple and does not require sophisticated devices. The test of the method, using cloned R522 as target, showed that the parasite detection method was sensitive and proved to be promising for use in routine health controls as well as for the survey of Toxoplasma infections.