Universal mitochondrial multi-locus sequence analysis (mtMLSA) to characterise populations of unanticipated plant pest biosecurity detections

Biosecurity responses to post-border exotic pest detections are more effective with knowledge of where the species may have originated from or if recurrent detections are connected. Population genetic markers for this are typically species-specific and not available in advance for any but the highest risk species, leaving other less anticipated species difficult to assess at the time. Here, new degenerate PCR primer sets are designed for within the Lepidoptera and Diptera for the 3′ COI, ND3, ND6, and 3′ plus 5′ 16S gene regions. These are shown to be universal at the ordinal level amongst species of 14 and 15 families across 10 and 11 dipteran and lepidopteran superfamilies, respectively. Sequencing the ND3 amplicons as an example of all the loci confirmed detection of population-level variation. This supported finding multiple population haplotypes from the publicly available sequences. Concatenation of the sequences also confirmed that higher population resolution is achieved than for the individual genes. Although as-yet untested in a biosecurity situation, this method is a relatively simple, off-the-shelf means to characterise populations. This makes a proactive contribution to the toolbox of quarantine agencies at the time of detection without the need for unprepared species-specific research and development

Analysis of Clonal Type-Specific Antibody Reactions in Toxoplasma gondii Seropositive Humans from Germany by Peptide-Microarray

BACKGROUND: Different clonal types of Toxoplasma gondii are thought to be associated with distinct clinical manifestations of infections. Serotyping is a novel technique which may allow to determine the clonal type of T. gondii humans are infected with and to extend typing studies to larger populations which include infected but non-diseased individuals. METHODOLOGY: A peptide-microarray test for T. gondii serotyping was established with 54 previously published synthetic peptides, which mimic clonal type-specific epitopes. The test was applied to human sera (n = 174) collected from individuals with an acute T. gondii infection (n = 21), a latent T. gondii infection (n = 53) and from T. gondii-seropositive forest workers (n = 100). FINDINGS: The majority (n = 124; 71%) of all T. gondii seropositive human sera showed reactions against synthetic peptides with sequences specific for clonal type II (type II peptides). Type I and type III peptides were recognized by 42% (n = 73) or 16% (n = 28) of the human sera, respectively, while type II-III, type I-III or type I-II peptides were recognized by 49% (n = 85), 36% (n = 62) or 14% (n = 25) of the sera, respectively. Highest reaction intensities were observed with synthetic peptides mimicking type II-specific epitopes. A proportion of the sera (n = 22; 13%) showed no reaction with type-specific peptides. Individuals with acute toxoplasmosis reacted with a statistically significantly higher number of peptides as compared to individuals with latent T. gondii infection or seropositive forest workers. CONCLUSIONS: Type II-specific reactions were overrepresented and higher in intensity in the study population, which was in accord with genotyping studies on T. gondii oocysts previously conducted in the same area. There were also individuals with type I- or type III-specific reactions. Well-characterized reference sera and further specific peptide markers are needed to establish and to perform future serotyping approaches with higher resolution

DNA vaccines and recombinant antigens in prevention of Toxoplasma gondii infections - current status of the studies

Toxoplasmosis caused by an intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii is still one of major medical and veterinary problems and there is still need for a vaccine for human toxoplasmosis. Despite years of research much remains to be done to develop effective vaccine. The article presents the current status of vaccine strategies against toxoplasmosis with focus on the most developed approaches using naked DNA and recombinant antigens

Toxoplasma gondii: immunological response of sheep to injections of recombinant SAG1, SAG2, GRA1 proteins coupled to the non-toxic microparticle muramyl dipeptide

Toxoplasma gondii is an important cause of reproductive loss in sheep and has a large economic impact, worldwide, because of infections in humans and animals. The immune response in sheep was evaluated, following administration with four different combinations of recombinant proteins derived from T. gondii. 25 three-year-old non-pregnant Coopworth ewes were vaccinated twice by intramuscular injection with either the recombinant surface antigen 1 (SAG1), 2 (SAG2) or excretory/secretory antigen (GRA1) each individually conjugated to non-toxic muramyl dipeptide (MDP). Blood samples were collected from all animals prior to the first injection and once per week until five weeks after the second injection. Immunoglobulins (Ig) G1 and IgG2 level were measured using an ELISA test. IFN-γ were estimated using the commercially available bovine IFN-gamma test kit (Bovigam, Prionics AG). Administration of the recombinant GRA1 enhanced both IFN-γ production from peripheral blood cells when cultured in vitro with Toxoplasma antigen, and GRA1-specific IgG2 antibody level present in serum. Unlike GRA1 SAG1 did not stimulate IFN-γ production in the same test system. These results indicate the potential of recombinant GRA1, as a vaccine candidate to protect sheep against T. gondii infection

Induction of immune responses in sheep by vaccination with liposome-entrapped DNA complexes encoding Toxoplasma gondii MIC3 gene

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that has been extensively studied due to its medical and veterinary importance in terminating pregnancies. Consequently, a satisfactory vaccine is required to control its adverse effects on pregnant animals. The microneme protein, MIC3, is a major adhesion protein that binds to the surface of host cells and parasites, and is therefore a potential vaccine against T. gondii. The viability of MIC3 as a vaccine is investigated in this study. Sheep were injected twice, intramuscularly, with plasmids containing DNA encoding for the mature form of MIC3 protein formulated into liposomes. Control sheep were injected with an empty vector or received no injections. The injection of sheep with DNA plasmids encoding for MIC3 elicited an immune response after the first and second injections as indicated by antibody responses and the production of IFN-γ. The immune response, as measured by the IgG2 and IgG1 serum levels, was boosted after the injection of the MIC3 DNA vaccine together with high anti-MIC3 antibodies. The results demonstrate that the intramuscular injection of sheep with a plasmid containing DNA coding for MIC3 protein induces a significant and effective immune response against T. gondii