title: Detection of variable DNA repeats in diverse eukaryotic microorganisms by a single set of polymerase chain reaction primers.
abstract: We cloned and sequenced a variable DNA repeat from Trichomonas vaginalis, a flagellated protozoan parasite. Targeting of this repeat in the polymerase chain reaction resulted in complex and intense product patterns for a wide variety of eukaryotic microorganisms, including the pathogenic protozoan parasites T. vaginalis, Giardia lamblia, Leishmania donovani, three species of Trypanosoma, and four species of Acanthamoeba; the nonpathogenic protozoans, Paramecium tetraurelia and Tetrahymena thermophilia; and a yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each microorganism exhibited a distinctive pattern of repeats. For example, a characteristic pattern was exhibited by six clinical T. vaginalis isolates. Eight G. lamblia isolates exhibited either one of two characteristic pattern types. There was no reaction with human DNA or DNA from the prokaryotes Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis. This approach may facilitate detection of a wide variety of eukaryotic microorganisms by use of a single primer set and holds promise for the development of typing schemes for both T. vaginalis and G. lamblia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samadpour
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Krieger
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan