Western Australian marsupials are multiply infected with genetically diverse strains of Toxoplasma gondii

Shuting Pan; R C Andrew Thompson; Michael E Grigg; Natarajan Sundar; Andrew Smith; Alan J Lymbery

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045147

Western Australian marsupials are multiply infected with genetically diverse strains of Toxoplasma gondii

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45147. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045147. Epub 2012 Sep 24.

Authors

Shuting Pan¹, R C Andrew Thompson, Michael E Grigg, Natarajan Sundar, Andrew Smith, Alan J Lymbery

Affiliation

¹ School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Genetic Variation*
Marsupialia / parasitology*
Multilocus Sequence Typing
Organ Specificity
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Species Specificity
Toxoplasma / genetics*
Toxoplasmosis, Animal / parasitology*
Western Australia

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council and Murdoch University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.