Comparison of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 DNA sequences from Necator americanus hookworms maintained for 100 generations in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and hookworms from natural human infections.
The human hookworm Necator americanus was maintained through one hundred generations in the golden hamsters. The strain is now routinely maintained in laboratory hamsters through serial passage, and is the laboratory strain of choice for vaccine studies. Comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (cox-1) sequences was shown previously to be useful for comparing the genetic structure of populations of N. americanus in China. Cytochrome oxidase 1 genes were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, and the sequences compared to those of N. americanus recovered from infected humans from several regions in China. Sequence comparison revealed little difference between the laboratory strain and the field isolates at the cox-1 locus, but also indicated that the laboratory strain is represented by a single cox-1 haplotype. These results suggest that the laboratory strain of N. americanus has undergone a severe genetic bottleneck, and that the genetic diversity in other genes, including potential vaccine antigens, could be similarly limited.
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Centers for Disease Control (CCDC), 207 Rui Jin Er Lu, Shanghai 200025, PR China.
Tie-Hua
TH
Li
Xiang-Rong
XR
Guo
Jian
J
Xue
Ling
L
Hu
Hui-Qin
HQ
Qiang
Hai-Chou
HC
Xue
Zhan
Z
Bin
John M
JM
Hawdon
Shu-Hua
SH
Xiao
D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008647:Mesocricetus; D017221:Necator americanus / Q000235:genetics*; D009332:Necatoriasis / Q000469:parasitology
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV