Contribution of Trypanosoma cruzi polymorphic microsatellite analyses in refining epidemiology aspects of Chagas disease

In 2009, we celebrated a centenary of the discovery of Chagas disease. Despite the great knowledge accumulated regarding the parasite and the disease itself, many epidemiological aspects of the disease rest to be clarified. Here we review different applications of hypervariable microsatellites for investigating the population structure of Trypanosoma cruzi. We present data on the genotyping of parasites isolated from vectors or mammalian hosts, single protozoan cells sorted by FACS and parasites present directly in patient tissues. These are used on the determination of the ploidy and clonality of parasite populations, diagnosis of congenital Chagas disease and phylogenetic reconstructions using both genotypic or haplotypic approach.