Identification of Toxoplasma gondii strain in human and mouse in Urmia by PCR-RFLP

Infection by Toxoplasma gondii is widespread inhumans and many other species of warm-blooded animals. It can cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing fetus and in immunocompromised individuals، including humans with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or submitted to cancer chemotherapy. Among livestock، sheep and goat are more widely infected with T. gondii. This parasite is a major cause of abortion، with significant economic losses to sheep and goat breeders. We applied the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of the pathogenic protozoan T. gondii based on its B gene. The B gene is present and conserved in all six T. gondii strains identified to date. For this purpose 26 suspected human’s blood samples and 54 mice brain and heart were collected from Urmia. In this study، PCR was performed using the previously described primers (Homanet al 2000)، which were designed to detect the B gene of T. gondii. The targeted B gene is highly conserved in all T. gondii strains and is multiple copy genes within the T. gondii genome. The method used for the characterization of T. gondii strains implied digestion with AluIrestriction enzyme of the fragments amplified. The results indicated 19 positive samples (7 human and 12 mouse samples). The 529bp fragment was generated in all positive samples tested and one RFLP patterns were obtained. The results indicated that the same strain of T. gondii can infect human and mouse in surveyed region.