Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22479659›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2012

Extensive genetic diversity, unique population structure and evidence of genetic exchange in the sexually transmitted parasite Trichomonas vaginalis.

Melissa D Conrad, Andrew W Gorman, Julia A Schillinger, Pier Luigi Fiori, Rossana Arroyo, Nancy Malla, Mohan Lal Dubey, Jorge Gonzalez, Susan Blank, William E Secor and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

55 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Molecular Diagnosis ofJournal of tropical medicine · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Viruses · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Identification ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Prevalence and Genotype ofJournal of tropical medicine · 2023
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. High Co-Infection Rate ofHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.

Melissa D ConradDepartment of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
Andrew W Gorman
Julia A Schillinger
Pier Luigi Fiori
Rossana Arroyo
Nancy Malla
Mohan Lal Dubey
Jorge Gonzalez
Susan Blank
William E Secor
Jane M Carlton
New York University · USPost Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research · INCenter for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute · MXCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · USDivision of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria · USNew York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene · USUniversity of Antofagasta · CLUniversity of Sassari · IT

Funding

INFECTIOUS DISEASES &BASIC MICROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMST32AI007180 · NIAID · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI WEISER, JEFFREY NEAL · 1985 to 2022
$8.9M
Advancing research on the sexually transmitted female 'nuisance' pathogen TrichomR21AI083954 · NIAID · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI CARLTON, JANE M · 2009 to 2010
$465k
NIAID NIH HHS 5R21AI083954-02NIAID NIH HHS 5T32AI007180-28NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI083954NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007180
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTrichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of human trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection world-wide. Despite its prevalence, little is known about the genetic diversity and population structure of this haploid parasite due to the lack of appropriate tools. The development of a panel of microsatellite makers and SNPs from mining the parasite's genome sequence has paved the way to a global analysis of the genetic structure of the pathogen and association with clinical phenotypes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL

findingsHere we utilize a panel of T. vaginalis-specific genetic markers to genotype 235 isolates from Mexico, Chile, India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Italy, Africa and the United States, including 19 clinical isolates recently collected from 270 women attending New York City sexually transmitted disease clinics. Using population genetic analysis, we show that T. vaginalis is a genetically diverse parasite with a unique population structure consisting of two types present in equal proportions world-wide. Parasites belonging to the two types (type 1 and type 2) differ significantly in the rate at which they harbor the T. vaginalis virus, a dsRNA virus implicated in parasite pathogenesis, and in their sensitivity to the widely-used drug, metronidazole. We also uncover evidence of genetic exchange, indicating a sexual life-cycle of the parasite despite an absence of morphologically-distinct sexual stages. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study represents the first robust and comprehensive evaluation of global T. vaginalis genetic diversity and population structure. Our identification of a unique two-type structure, and the clinically relevant phenotypes associated with them, provides a new dimension for understanding T. vaginalis pathogenesis. In addition, our demonstration of the possibility of genetic exchange in the parasite has important implications for genetic research and control of the disease.

Indexed as

Genetic VariationAdultAnimalsAntiprotozoal AgentsCluster AnalysisDrug ResistanceFemaleGlobal HealthHumansMetronidazoleMicrosatellite RepeatsMolecular Sequence DataPhylogenySequence Analysis, DNASexually Transmitted DiseasesTrichomonas InfectionsAntiprotozoal AgentsMetronidazole

Identifiers

PMID22479659
PMCPMC3313929
OpenAlexW2119264490

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.