Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and its applications in epidemiological studies for parasitic infections

Abstract

© 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Many molecular tools have been developed over the past decades to determine the genotype and subgenotype of parasites. The nucleotide sequence based method- multilocus sequence typing (MLST)-has been developed, which is practical, provides more discriminatory power, and generates data meaningful for epidemiology studies and understanding the evolution of the organisms. Applying this technique in epidemiological studies of pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites conclusively improves the reliability of their taxonomy, guides the identification of the subtypespecific markers, and helps in resolving the nature of population structures in the endemic and defined areas. Additionally, the data obtained from MLST can be shared with other laboratories via the Internet, and the comparison of the data can be achieved through Web-accessible databases. This review describes the use of DNA technology in epidemiological investigations and the fundamentals of MLST, and summarizes the applications of MLST in parasitic research.