Isoenzyme analysis of human and animal isolates of Giardia duodenalis from British Columbia, Canada

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1989 Oct;41(4):411-5. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1989.41.411.

Abstract

Isoenzyme patterns of 32 isolates of Giardia duodenalis, obtained from 6 beavers and 11 humans from British Columbia, plus 15 other isolates were evaluated using thin-layer starch-gel electrophoresis. We attempted to use 12 enzymes; 9 gave reproducible and interpretable results. The isoenzyme patterns of the isolates were classified into 12 groups with 17 (53%) of the 32 isolates confined to 1 group. The other 11 groups each comprised only 1 or 2 isolates. There was no obvious correlation between clinical symptoms and isoenzyme patterns. Our findings suggest that beavers, like humans and gerbils are receptive to organisms with many different isoenzyme patterns.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • British Columbia
  • Dogs
  • Electrophoresis, Starch Gel
  • Giardia / enzymology*
  • Humans
  • Isoenzymes / classification
  • Isoenzymes / isolation & purification*
  • Rodentia
  • Sheep
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Isoenzymes