title: Evaluation of alpha-tubulin as an antigenic and molecular probe to detect Giardia lamblia.
abstract: The alpha/beta-tubulin heterodimer is the basic subunit of microtubules in eukaryotes. Polyclonal antibodies specific to recombinant alpha-tubulin of Giardia lamblia were made, and found effective as a probe to specifically detect G. lamblia by immunofluorescence assays. Nucleotide sequences of alpha-tubulin genes were compared between G. lamblia WB and GS strains, prototypes of assemblage A and assemblage B, respectively. A set of primers was designed and used to amplify a portion of the alpha-tubulin gene from G. lamblia. PCR-RFLP analysis of this alpha-tubulin PCR product successfully differentiated G. lamblia into 2 distinct groups, assemblages A and B. The results indicate that alpha-tubulin can be used as a molecular probe to detect G. lamblia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medical Biology and Institute of Tropical Medicine, Post Brain Korea 21 Program, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Juri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Myeong Heon
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Kyoung-Ju
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Soon-Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D015335:Molecular Probes; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D014404:Tubulin