RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA ANALYSIS OF TRYPANOSOMA-CRUZI STRAINS

DNA extracted from 32 isolates of Trypanosoma cruzi was subjected to p olymerase chain reaction amplification using 4 arbitrary primers resul ting in relatively complex DNA profiles that include polymorphic marke rs known as random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs). The RAPD profil es of 18 strains belonging to zymodeme 1 (Z1) collected from various r egions of South America exhibited a consistant pattern and 59 (59%) of the bands produced were present in all Z1 strains. A similar level of consistency was seen in the number of bands shared between 5 Z2 strai ns, 4 ZB strains and 2 ZC strains. A phenetic analysis of the 5 most d ifferent Z1 strains based on band sharing showed that their interrelat ionships mirrored their geographical origin. Comparison of the RAPD pr ofiles of strains from different zymodemes showed that less than 7% of bands of strains in one zymodeme are present in strains of another zy modeme. Analysis of band sharing using bands present in all strains of a given zymodeme showed ZB and ZC to be closely related and Z1 and Z2 to form distinct groups.