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Genetic diversity of Babesia bovis in virulent and attenuated strains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2011

M. L. MAZUZ ,
T. MOLAD ,
L. FISH ,
B. LEIBOVITZ ,
R. WOLKOMIRSKY ,
L. FLEIDEROVITZ  and
V. SHKAP
M. L. MAZUZ*
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
T. MOLAD
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
L. FISH
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
B. LEIBOVITZ
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
R. WOLKOMIRSKY
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
L. FLEIDEROVITZ
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
V. SHKAP
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.B. 12, 50250. Bet Dagan, Israel
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +972 3 9681785. Fax: +972 3 9681678. E-mail: monica@int.gov.il
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Summary

The aim of this study was to compare the genetic diversity of the single copy Bv80 gene sequences of Babesia bovis in populations of attenuated and virulent parasites. PCR/ RT-PCR followed by cloning and sequence analyses of 4 attenuated and 4 virulent strains were performed. Multiple fragments in the range of 420 to 744 bp were amplified by PCR or RT-PCR. Cloning of the PCR fragments and sequence analyses revealed the presence of mixed subpopulations in either virulent or attenuated parasites with a total of 19 variants with 12 different sequences that differed in number and type of tandem repeats. High levels of intra- and inter-strain diversity of the Bv80 gene, with the presence of mixed populations of parasites were found in both the virulent field isolates and the attenuated vaccine strains. In addition, during the attenuation process, sequence analyses showed changes in the pattern of the parasite subpopulations. Despite high polymorphism found by sequence analyses, the patterns observed and the number of repeats, order, or motifs found could not discriminate between virulent field isolates and attenuated vaccine strains of the parasite.

Keywords

Babesia bovisgenetic diversityattenuated strainsvirulent strainsBv80 gene
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 139 , Issue 3 , March 2012 , pp. 317 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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