title: Tunisian Toxoplasma gondii strains genotyping by the use of AK69 marker.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical manifestation due to infection by Toxoplasma gondii is closely linked to the infecting strain of the parasite. Several genetic markers are available to determinate its genotype but few of them are able to discriminate between the three predominant lineages, namely types I, II and III. The number of markers decreases when atypical, recombinant/mixed genotypes need to be identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our study, the contribution of sequence polymorphisms in the AK69 gene as typing markers for T. gondii was investigated for the first time in an epidemiological study. The coding region of the marker was amplified, sequenced and aligned for different Toxoplasma strains. The identified nucleotide polymorphism at 12 positions was able to highly discriminate between the different congenital toxoplasmosis Tunisian strains. Moreover the high detection sensitivity level of the marker enabled unambiguous identification of mixed/recombinant genotypes directly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It can be, thus, very useful for direct typing in areas where such genotypes are frequently encountered, mainly in the African continent.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Recherche 05SP03, Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, 13 Place Pasteur BP74, Tunis Belvédères 1002, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boughattas
authors.forename: Rym
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ben-Abdallah
authors.forename: Emna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siala
authors.forename: Imen
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ben-Abda
authors.forename: Olfa
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Souissi
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aoun
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouratbine
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D058889:Molecular Typing / Q000379:methods*; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000469:parasitology*; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins