U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Dubey, Jitenderitem
                                            SUNDAR, N - USDA ARS ANRI APDLitem
                                            GENNARI, S - SAO PAULO, BRAZILitem
                                            MINERVINO, A H - SAO PAULO, BRAZILitem
                                            FARIAS, N A DA R - RIO GRANDE BRAZILitem
                                            RUAS, J - RIO GRANDE BRAZILitem
                                            SANTOS, T R B DOS - SAO PAULO, BRAZILitem
                                            CAVALCANTE, G - USDA ARS ANRI APDLitem
                                            Kwok, Oliveritem
                                            SU, C - KNOXVILLE TN
  Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2006
                                    Publication  Date: 1/1/2007
                                    Citation: Dubey, J.P., Sundar, N., Gennari, S.M., Minervino, A.H., Farias, N., Ruas, J.L., Santos, T., Cavalcante, G.T., Kwok, O.C., Su, C. 2007. Biologic and genetic comparison of Toxoplasma gondii isolates in free-range chickens from the northern pará state and the southern state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil revealed highly diverse and distinct parasite populations. Veterinary Parasitology. 143:182-188.Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite of all warm-blooded hosts worldwide. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in children, and abortion in livestock. Cats are the main reservoir of T. gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the resistant stage (oocyst) of the parasite in the feces. Humans become infected by eating undercooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts.Toxoplasmosis causes mortality in many species of animals in the zoos, especially primates.

Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center  and University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America report genetic characterization of Toxoplasma from chickens from Brazil. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists,  and veterinarians
                                Technical Abstract: The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging chickens (Gallus domesticus) is a good indicator of the prevalence of T. gondii oocysts in the soil because chickens feed from the ground. The prevalence of T. 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, 1:320 in six, 1:640 in eight, and '1:1280 in six. Hearts and brains of 44 chickens with titers of 1:20 or less were pooled and fed to two T. gondii-free cats. Hearts and brains of 39 chickens with titers of 1:20 or higher were bioassayed in mice. Feces of cats were examined for oocysts. One cat fed tissues from 31 chickens with titers of less than 1:10 from Rio Grande do Sul shed T. gondii oocysts. T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice from 33 chickens with MAT titers of 1:20 or higher. All infected mice from 10 isolates died of toxoplasmosis. All 34 isolates (15 from Pará, 19 from Rio Grande do Sul) were genotyped using 11 nuclear markers including SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, a new SAG2 and Apico. Eleven genotypes were revealed for Pará isolates and seven genotypes for Rio Grande do Sul. No genotype was shared between the two geographical locations. These data suggests that T. gondii isolates are highly diverse and genetically distinct between the two different regions in Brazil that are 4500 km apart.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov