Determination of Trichomonas vaginalis Genotypes Using PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)

Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic protozoon and the most common non-viral sexually transmitted pathogen. The present study was designed to determine the genotypes of T. vaginalis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism of actin gene.

A total of 20 isolates from symptomatic females isolated and cryopreserved at Adnan Menderes University, Research and Training Hospital Parasitology Laboratory were included. The isolates from liquid nitrogen were thawed and grown in trypticase-yeast extract-maltose medium prior to the study. Following nucleic acid extraction, the actin gene of T. vaginalis was amplified using nested PCR and amplicons were concentrated with phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol precipitation. The final products were digested with HindII, MseI, and RsaI and were visualized using agarose gel electrophoresis.

Most isolates were actin genotype E (n=9, 45%). The remaining isolates were genotype G (n=7, 35%), genotype N (n=1, 5%), and genotype H (n=1, 5%); two were mixed genotypes of E and H (10%).

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to provide data on T. vaginalis genotypes in Turkey. However, further studies should be conducted to understand the molecular epidemiology of T. vaginalis at the national and global levels.