Characterization and Check of Identity of Different Strains of Toxoplasma gondii by Enzymatic Profiling

抄録

Zymogram analysis of nine strains of Toxoplasma gondii all highly virulent for mice was performed with the API enzyme research kits®. The parasite strains had been maintained by continuous intraperitoneal infection in mice for many years separately in different laboratories in Europe and were retraced to five isolates (RH, BK, 928, KB, Alt). The API research kits® use chromogenic substrates for a semiquantitative detection of 84 enzymes, including the classes aminopeptidases, glycosidases, esterases, lipases, phosphatases and phosphoamidases. From the zymograms Manhattan distances were calculated and a hierarchical tree of the parasite strains was established by complete linkage.
All strains could be easily integrated into two distinct clusters. However, the correct designation of some strains as direct descendant of a definite isolate seems to be questionable.
Zymogram analysis is suitable for a quick enzymatic characterisation of any mouse virulent Toxoplasma strain and for a simple comparison to defined reference strains. Thus, it allows a rapid detection of any strain confusion during isolation procedures or long term propagation.