UNLABELLED The Toxoplasma gondii SRS gene superfamily is structurally related to SRS29B (formerly SAG1), a surface adhesin that binds host cells and stimulates host immunity. Comparative genomic analyses of three Toxoplasma strains identified 182 SRS genes distributed across 14 chromosomes at 57 genomic loci. Eight distinct SRS subfamilies were resolved. A core 69 functional gene orthologs were...

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii was investigated on a poorly managed pig farm in Maryland. Serum and tissue samples from 48 of the 100 pigs on the farm were available for T. gondii evaluation. Serological testing was performed using both ELISA and the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were detected by ELISA in 12 of 48 animals, while antibodies were detected in 34 o...

Little is known of the genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii circulating in wildlife. In the present study, antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples from 632 mute swans (Cygnus olor) collected from different areas of the USA. Sera were tested by T. gondii modified agglutination test; 54 (8.5%) of 632 samples were seropositive with titers of 25 in 28 sera, 50 in 22 sera, 100 in ...

Toxoplasma gondii affects a wide variety of hosts including threatened southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) which serve as sentinels for the detection of the parasite's transmission into marine ecosystems. Toxoplasmosis is a major cause of mortality and contributor to the slow rate of population recovery for southern sea otters in California. An updated seroprevalence analysis showed tha...

Serologic detection of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies is widely accepted as a means to determine immune status and susceptibility to Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy. However, current commercial kits present some drawbacks, such as a requirement for whole-parasite antigen preparation or interassay variability. To address these problems, the purpose of this study was to produce a whole se...

BACKGROUND Toxoplasmosis caused by the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a global epidemic parasitic disease. DNA vaccines play an important role in preventing the spread of toxoplasmosis. SAG family genes encoding particular surface proteins of T. gondii are the best candidates of DNA vaccine. As a member of SAG family genes, SAG5 gene has been proved to have better antig...

Herein we characterized various genetic markers and the biological behavior of a natural recombinant strain of Toxoplasma gondii (P-Br). From nine genetic markers analyzed, three (B1, ROP1, and SAG1) and three (cS10-A6, GRA6, and SAG3) markers belong to parasites from the type I and type III lineages, respectively. The SAG2 and L363 loci were shown to be type I-III chimera alleles. The cB2l-4 m...

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in 84 free-range chickens (34 from the northern Pará state, and 50 from Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state) from Brazil, South America was determined. Antibodies to T. gondii were assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT), and found in 39 (46.4%) of 84 chickens with titers of 1:10 in one, 1:20 in two, 1:40 in four, 1:80 in seven, 1:160 in five, 1:32...

Clinical toxoplasmosis is most severe in congenitally-infected hosts. In humans, transmission of Toxoplasma gondii from the mother to the foetus is considered to be most efficient during the last trimester of pregnancy but clinical congenital toxoplasmosis is more severe if transmission occurs during the first trimester. However, there are no data on the rate of congenital transmission of T. go...