Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites form spontaneously during sporozoite-initiated development

Tachyzoites (VEG strain) that emerge from host cells infected with Toxoplasma gondii sporozoites proliferate relatively fast and double their number every 6 h. This rate of growth is intrinsic, as neither the number of host cells invaded nor host cell type appears to influence emergent tachyzoite replication. Fast tachyzoite growth was not persistent, and following approximately 20 divisions, the population uniformly shifted to slower growth. Parasites 10 days post-sporozoite infection doubled only once every 15 h and, unlike emergent tachyzoites, they grew at this slower rate over several months of continuous cell culture. The spontaneous change in tachyzoite growth rate preceded the expression of the bradyzoite-specific marker, BAG1. Within 24 h of the growth shift, 2% of the population expressed BAG1, and by 15 days post-sporozoite infection, 50% of the parasites were positive for this marker. Spontaneous BAG1 expression was not observed in sporozoites or in tachyzoites during fast growth (through day 6 post-sporozoite inoculation), although these tachyzoites could be induced to express BAG1 earlier by culturing sporozoite-infected cells at pH 8.3. However, alkaline treatment also reduced the replication of emergent tachyzoites to the rate of growth-shifted parasites, supporting a link between reduced parasite growth and bradyzoite differentiation. The shift to slower growth was closely correlated with virulence in mice, as the initially fast-growing emergent tachyzoites were avirulent (100% lethal dose, >10(4) parasites), while a mutant VEG strain (MS-J) that is unable to growth shift caused 100% mortality in mice inoculated with 10 parasites. Parasites recovered from gamma interferon knockout mice inoculated with emergent tachyzoites grew at a slow rate and expressed BAG1, confirming that the replication switch occurs in animals and in the absence of a protective immune response.