GENETIC FINGERPRINTING OF THEILERIA-PARVA USING A TELOMERIC DNA-PROBE

A cloned Theileria parva telomeric DNA sequence, designated pTpUtel, w as used to characterize T. parva stocks and clones by hybridization to EcoRI-digested DNA. Eight of the nine T. parva stocks tested were dis criminated by the telomeric restriction-fragment-length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Two isolates derived from buffalo 7014 by tick feeding on dif ferent occasions were also differentiated using the probe. The probe g ave comparable results on purified piroplasm or schizont-infected lymp hocyte DNA and did not cross-hybridize with uninfected bovine DNA. The telomeric restriction pattern of a cloned T. parva parasite remained identical after four passages through ticks and cattle. The telomeric sequence therefore represents a useful additional tool for analysis of theileriosis epidemiology.