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Barnabé C, Brenière SF, Santillán-Guayasamín S, Douzery EJP, Waleckx E. Revisiting gene typing and phylogeny of Trypanosoma cruzi reference strains: Comparison of the relevance of mitochondrial DNA, single-copy nuclear DNA, and the intergenic region of mini-exon gene. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2023; 115:105504. [PMID: 37739149 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Chagas disease is a widespread neglected disease in Latin America. Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of the disease, is currently subdivided into six DTUs (discrete typing units) named TcI-TcVI, and although no clear association has been found between parasite genetics and different clinical outcomes of the disease or different transmission cycles, genetic characterization of T. cruzi strains remains crucial for integrated epidemiological studies. Numerous markers have been used for this purpose, although without consensus. These include mitochondrial genes, single or multiple-copy nuclear genes, ribosomal RNA genes, and the intergenic region of the repeated mini-exon gene. To increase our knowledge of these gene sequences and their usefulness for strain typing, we sequenced fragments of three mitochondrial genes, nine single-copy nuclear genes, and the repeated intergenic part of the mini-exon gene by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on a sample constituted of 16 strains representative of T. cruzi genetic diversity, to which we added the corresponding genetic data of the 38 T. cruzi genomes fully sequenced until 2022. Our results show that single-copy nuclear genes remain the gold standard for characterizing T. cruzi strains; the phylogenetic tree from concatenated genes (3959 bp) confirms the six DTUs previously recognized and provides additional information about the alleles present in the hybrid strains. In the tree built from the three mitochondrial concatenated genes (1274 bp), three main clusters are identified, including one with TcIII, TcIV, TcV, and TcVI DTUs which are not separated. Nevertheless, mitochondrial markers remain necessary for detecting introgression and heteroplasmy. The phylogenetic tree built from the sequence alignment of the repeated mini-exon gene fragment (327 bp) displayed six clusters, but only TcI was associated with a single cluster. The sequences obtained from strains belonging to the other DTUs were scattered into different clusters. Therefore, while the mini-exon marker may bring, for some biological samples, some advantages in terms of sensibility due to its repeated nature, mini-exon sequences must be used with caution and, when possible, avoided for T. cruzi typing and phylogenetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Barnabé
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR INTERTRYP IRD, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
| | - Simone Frédérique Brenière
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR INTERTRYP IRD, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Soledad Santillán-Guayasamín
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR INTERTRYP IRD, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Emmanuel J P Douzery
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
| | - Etienne Waleckx
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR INTERTRYP IRD, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Laboratorio de Parasitología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico; ACCyC, Asociación Chagas con Ciencia y Conocimiento, A. C, Orizaba, Mexico.
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Kann S, Concha G, Weinreich F, Hahn A, Rückert C, Kalinowski J, Landt O, Frickmann H. Comparative Assessment of Two Commercial Real-Time PCR Assays for the Diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in Serum. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11040901. [PMID: 37110326 PMCID: PMC10142699 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11040901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This study was performed to comparably assess two commercial real-time PCR assays for the identification of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in serum. A total of 518 Colombian serum samples with high pre-test probability for infections with either T. cruzi or apathogenic Trypanosoma rangeli were assessed. The assessment comprised the NDO real-time PCR (TIB MOLBIOL, ref. no. 53-0755-96, referred to as the TibMolBiol assay in the following) with specificity for T. cruzi and the RealStar Chagas PCR Kit 1.0 (altona DIAGNOSTICS, order no. 611013, referred to as the RealStar assay in the following) targeting a kinetoplast sequence of both T. cruzi and T. rangeli without further discrimination. To discriminate between T. cruzi- and T. rangeli-specific real-time PCR amplicons, Sanger sequencing results were available for a minority of cases with discordant real-time PCR results, while the amplicons of the remaining discordant samples were subjected to nanopore sequencing. The study assessment indicated a proportion of 18.1% (n = 94) T. cruzi-positive samples next to 24 samples (4.6%) containing DNA of the phylogenetically related but apathogenic parasite T. rangeli. The observed diagnostic accuracy as expressed by sensitivity and specificity was 97.9% (92/94) and 99.3% (421/424) with the TibMolBiol assay and 96.8% (91/94) and 95.0% (403/424) with the RealStar assay, respectively. Reduced specificity resulted from cross-reaction with T. rangeli in all instances (3 cross-reactions with the TibMolBiol assay and 21 cross-reactions with the RealStar assay). DNA from the six discrete typing units (DTUs) of T. cruzi was successfully amplified by both real-time PCR assays. In summary, both assays showed a comparable diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of T. cruzi from human serum, with a slightly higher specificity seen for the TibMolBiol assay. The pronounced co-amplification of DNA from apathogenic T. rangeli according to the RealStar assay may be a disadvantage in areas of co-circulation with T. cruzi, while the test performance of the two compared assays will be quite similar in geographic settings where T. rangeli infections are unlikely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Kann
- Medical Mission Institute, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Gustavo Concha
- Organization Wiwa Yugumaiun Bunkauanarrua Tayrona (OWYBT), Department Health Advocacy, Valledupar 2000001, Colombia
| | - Felix Weinreich
- Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Hahn
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany
| | - Christian Rückert
- CeBiTec Centrum for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Jörn Kalinowski
- CeBiTec Centrum for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Hagen Frickmann
- Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany
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de Abreu AP, Lucas da Silva HF, Sarto MPM, Iunklaus GF, Trovo JV, de Souza Fernandes N, Teston APM, Toledo MJDO. Infection susceptibility and vector competence of Rhodnius robustus Larrousse, 1927 and R. pictipes Stal, 1872 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) for strains of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909) (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) I, II and IV. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:239. [PMID: 35773725 PMCID: PMC9245265 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05350-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Rhodnius robustus and Rhodnius pictipes are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease (CD), that are found in the Brazilian Amazon region. Susceptibility to infection and vector competence depend on the parasite-vector relationship. Our objective was to evaluate the interaction between T. cruzi and these two triatomine vectors in pure and mixed experimental infections of T. cruzi strains from the same or different geographic regions. Methods Fifth-instar nymphs of R. robustus and R. pictipes were fed on mice infected with four T. cruzi strains, namely genotypes TcIAM, TcIMG, TcIIPR, and TcIVAM, respectively, from the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Minas Gerais and Paraná. Over a period of 120 days, excreta were examined every 20 days to assess vector competence, and intestinal contents (IC) were examined every 30 days to determine susceptibility to infection. Results The highest positive rate in the fresh examination (%+FE, 30.0%), the highest number of parasitic forms (PF, n = 1969) and the highest metacyclogenesis rate (%MC, 53.8%) in the excreta were recorded for R. robustus/TcIVAM. Examination of the IC of R. pictipes revealed a higher number of PF in infections with TcIAM (22,680 PF) and TcIIPR (19,845 PF) alone or in association (17,145 PF), as well as a %+FE of 75.0% with TcII, in comparison with the other genotypes. The highest %MC (100%) was recorded for the mixed infections of TcIAM with TcIIPR or TcIVAM in the IC of R. pictipes. Conclusions Overall, both species were found to be susceptible to the T. cruzi strains studied. Rhodnius robustus showed vector competence for genotypes TcIVAM and TcIAM+TcIVAM and R. pictipes for TcIAM+TcIVAM and TcIAM+TcIIPR; there was elimination of infective forms as early as at 20 days. Our results suggest that both the genetics of the parasite and its geographic origin influence the susceptibility to infection and vector competence, alone or in association. Graphical Abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Paula de Abreu
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
| | - Hevillyn Fernanda Lucas da Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Marcella Paula Mansano Sarto
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Giullia Ferreira Iunklaus
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - João Vitor Trovo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Nilma de Souza Fernandes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Biológicas, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, UEM, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Margioto Teston
- Departamento de Farmácia, Centro Universitario Uningá, Rodovia PR-317, Maringá, PR, 87035-510, Brazil
| | - Max Jean de Ornelas Toledo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências da Saúde, Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Biológicas, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, UEM, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.,Departamento de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, CCS, UEM, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
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