Isolation of Trypanosoma cruzi specific nuclear repeated DNA sequences

We described the isolation of two genomic fragments, called E12 and E22, containing highly repeated DNA sequences from Trypanosoma cruzi. The E12 and E22 fragments have molecular sizes of about 1.1 and 0.8 Kb, respectively. Copy number determinations indicate that each one of these sequences are repeated about 5 x 10(3) times in the parasite genome. E12 and E22 elements do not cross-hybridize indicating that they are not related in nucleotide sequence. The Southern blot analysis of total DNA digested with a variety of restriction enzymes shows the existence of a complex pattern of hybridization bands with the repeated elements indicating that they are interspersed along the T. cruzi genome. In fact, pulsed field gel electrophoresis together with hybridization evidenced that both sequences are present in all or nearly all the chromosomal bands. Clones bearing these repetitive elements could be useful for diagnostic of the Chagas' disease and strain classification purposes.