Molecular techniques for the study and diagnosis of parasite infection

In parasitology, routine laboratory diagnosis involves conventional methods, such as optical microscopy, used for the morphological identification of parasites. Currently, molecular biology techniques are increasingly used to diagnose parasite structures in order to enhance the identification and ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: RG Tavares, R Staggemeier, ALP Borges, MT Rodrigues, LA Castelan, J Vasconcelos, ME Anschau, SM Spalding
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SciELO 2011
Subjects:
parasite infection
diagnosis
molecular techniques
molecular epidemiology
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Toxicology. Poisons
RA1190-1270
Zoology
QL1-991
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-91992011000300003
https://doaj.org/article/624da572957945138236a40946f67fc6
Description
Summary:In parasitology, routine laboratory diagnosis involves conventional methods, such as optical microscopy, used for the morphological identification of parasites. Currently, molecular biology techniques are increasingly used to diagnose parasite structures in order to enhance the identification and characterization of parasites. The objective of the present study was to review the main current and new diagnostic techniques for confirmation of parasite infections, namely: polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), Luminex xMAP, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), in addition to microsatellites. Molecular assays have comprehensively assisted in the diagnosis, treatment and epidemiological studies of parasitic diseases that affect people worldwide, helping to control parasitic disease mortality.

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