Changes in the isoenzyme and kinetoplast DNA patterns of Trypanosoma cruzi strains induced by maintenance in mice

Culture forms of thirteen Trypanosoma cruzi strains from 4 zymodemes and 9 schizodemes were inoculated and kept by successive passages in C3H mice. The strains were initially from the following zymodemes: 3 from A, 3 from B, 4 from C and 2 from D and 1 from AB mixed zymodemes. After approximately 18 months maintenance the parasites were isolated by hemoculture and again typed according to their isoenzyme and kinetoplast DNA patterns. The zymodeme A strains kept their initial patterns; from the 3 zymodeme B strains, two kept the initial patterns and one changed to zymodeme A; from the 4 zymodeme C, two kept the initial pattern and two changed to zymodeme B; from the 2 zymodeme D strains, one kept the initial pattern and one changed to zymodeme A. The strain from AB mixed zymodeme was reduced to zymodeme. A. The zymodeme changes were accompanied by schizodeme changes. Although not simultaneously, in one T. cruzi strain the parasitemia change was followed by zymodeme and schizodeme changes. The results showed that prolonged maintenance of T. cruzi in mice by successive passages alters the isoenzyme and k-DNA patterns of some strains and that these alterations tend to move towards zymodeme A, suggesting a selective effect of mice over these T. cruzi populations.