title: Differential diagnosis of oocysts of Hammondia-like organisms of dogs and cats by PCR-RFLP analysis of 70-kilodalton heat shock protein (HSP70) gene.
abstract: Organisms of the genera Toxoplasma, Hammondia and Neospora, the Hammondia-like organisms, are closely related coccidian with similarly sized oocysts. Therefore, a diagnosis based on microscopy of oocysts in feces is not a method of choice for species identification of these important parasites. In this paper, we present a polymerase chain reaction coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method to differentially diagnose oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii from oocyst of Hammondia hammondi. Another PCR-RFLP was designed to differentiate oocysts of Hammondia heydorni from oocysts of Neospora spp. Both PCR-RFLP are based on nucleotide sequences of the Hsp70 coding gene. In conclusion, we presented two alternative molecular diagnostic assays that can be successfully applied for the differentiation of oocysts of Hammondia-like organisms shed by felids and canids.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, CEP 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. renatamm@usp.br
authors.forename: Renata Molina
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Hilda Fátima de Jesus
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pena
authors.forename: Solange Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gennari
authors.forename: Sheila Oliveira
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Leonardo José
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Richtzenhain
authors.forename: Rodrigo Martins
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D033661:Oocysts / Q000145:classification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D021745:Sarcocystidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins