DETECTION OF POLYMORPHISMS AMONG THEILERIA-PARVA STOCKS USING REPETITIVE, TELOMERIC AND RIBOSOMAL DNA PROBES AND ANTI-SCHIZONT MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

A total of 21 Theileria parva stocks from 6 countries were characteriz ed using T. parva repetitive and ribosomal DNA probes, a Plasmodium be rghei telomeric oligonucleotide and a panel of anti-schizont monoclona l antibodies (MAbs). Hybridization of the repetitive DNA probe to Sout hern blots of EcoRI-digested T. parva DNA revealed 20 different restri ction fragment patterns among DNA samples isolated from infections ini tiated using 16 parasite stocks. The panel of anti-schizont MAbs defin ed 8 different profiles among schizont-infected lymphoblastoid cell-cu ltures infected with the same 16 T. parva stocks. Many stocks, which w ere differentiated by the repetitive DNA probe, could not be distingui shed using the anti-schizont MAbs. A cloned T. parva small subunit rib osomal RNA (SSUrRNA) gene probe separated 17 T. parva stocks into 2 gr oups, exhibiting either 1 or 2 restriction fragments, when hybridized to EcoRI-digested T. parva DNA. When hybridized to PvuII-digested DNA from 8 T. parva stocks, the ribosomal probe identified 4 groups with s imilar restriction fragment patterns. A synthetic oligonucleotide deri ved from a P. berghei telomeric sequence hybridized to 7 or 8 size-pol ymorphic restriction fragments in the EcoRI-digested DNA of most T. pa rva stocks. The telomeric and ribosomal probes defined the same 4 grou ps among 8 T. parva stocks as assessed by similarities in restriction fragment patterns. Based on the comparison of repetitive DNA sequences from the T. parva Uganda and Muguga stocks, a synthetic oligonucleoti de was developed which distinguished the DNA of the T. parva Uganda st ock from that of 4 other T. parva stocks on a positive/negative basis.