title: Western Australian marsupials are multiply infected with genetically diverse strains of Toxoplasma gondii.
abstract: Five different organs from 16 asymptomatic free-ranging marsupial macropods (Macropus rufus, M. fuliginosus, and M. robustus) from inland Western Australia were tested for infection with Toxoplasma gondii by multi-locus PCR-DNA sequencing. All macropods were infected with T. gondii, and 13 had parasite DNA in at least 2 organs. In total, 45 distinct T. gondii genotypes were detected. Fourteen of the 16 macropods were multiply infected with genetically distinct T. gondii genotypes that often partitioned between different organs. The presence of multiple T. gondii infections in macropods suggests that native mammals have the potential to promote regular cycles of sexual reproduction in the definitive felid host in this environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Shuting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: R C Andrew
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Grigg
authors.forename: Natarajan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lymbery
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000469:parasitology*; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009928:Organ Specificity; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000469:parasitology*; D014904:Western Australia