title: Sequence Variation in Superoxide Dismutase Gene of Toxoplasma gondii among Various Isolates from Different Hosts and Geographical Regions.
abstract: Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite of the phylum Apicomplexa, can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans, livestock, and marine mammals. The aim of this study was to investigate whether superoxide dismutase (SOD) of T. gondii can be used as a new marker for genetic study or a potential vaccine candidate. The partial genome region of the SOD gene was amplified and sequenced from 10 different T. gondii isolates from different parts of the world, and all the sequences were examined by PCR-RFLP, sequence analysis, and phylogenetic reconstruction. The results showed that partial SOD gene sequences ranged from 1,702 bp to 1,712 bp and A + T contents varied from 50.1% to 51.1% among all examined isolates. Sequence alignment analysis identified total 43 variable nucleotide positions, and these results showed that 97.5% sequence similarity of SOD gene among all examined isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these SOD sequences were not an effective molecular marker for differential identification of T. gondii strains. The research demonstrated existence of low sequence variation in the SOD gene among T. gondii strains of different genotypes from different hosts and geographical regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Aiping
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Qunli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Shenyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, Shandong, PR China.
authors.forename: Huaiyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002415:Cats; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012756:Sheep; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: PCR-RFLP; Toxoplasma gondii; phylogenetic analysis; sequence variation; superoxide dismutase