Comparison of MLST Genotype and Presence of Trichomonas vaginalis virus in Trichomonas vaginalis isolates
Morgan N. Vincent1, John C. Meade2, Cory G. Toyota1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS
2Department of Microbiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Trichomoniasis, the most common nonviral sexually transmitted disease in the world, is caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), which exists in two populations as shown by a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis based on seven single-copy housekeeping genes. Parasites can harbor up to four different strains of a double-stranded RNA virus called Trichomonas vaginalis virus (TVV1-4). Here, we compare MLST and TVV data for twenty-six T. vaginalis isolates from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), five long-term cultures, and six Mississippi isolates in addition to data from six literature reports. MLST, microsatellite and single-gene analyses agree that T. vaginalis exists as two major populations. TVV-type distributions seem to be consistent across all samples.