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Multilocus Sequence Typing System (MLST): Genetic Diversity and Genetic Components to Virulence

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Amebiasis

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Abstract

Data from whole genome sequencing of Entamoeba histolytica strains have been used to identify polymorphic loci. Sixteen of these loci were used to genotype 63 E. histolytica strains obtained from an area in Bangladesh where amebiasis is endemic. These markers seemed to segregate autonomously and exhibit extensive haplotype diversity. Despite the genetic heterogeneity, a strong association was observed between two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cylicin-2 gene and disease phenotype. This observation suggests that there are genetic differences between virulent and avirulent parasites and that, because of the naturally occurring high background reassortment, multilocus sequence typing in E. histolytica will permit us to link genetic markers with disease outcome in clinical samples.

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Acknowledgments

The work discussed here was supported by grant 5R01AI043596 from NIAID to W.A.P. This project has also been funded in part with federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services under contract numbers N01-AI30071 and/or HHSN272200900007.

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  1. Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Carol A. Gilchrist

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Correspondence to Carol A. Gilchrist .

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  1. Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Tomoyoshi Nozaki

  2. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Alok Bhattacharya

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Gilchrist, C.A. (2015). Multilocus Sequence Typing System (MLST): Genetic Diversity and Genetic Components to Virulence. In: Nozaki, T., Bhattacharya, A. (eds) Amebiasis. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55200-0_4

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