Trypanosoma cruzi: genetic group with peculiar biochemical and biological behavior.

Thirty-two Trypanosoma cruzi strains, isolated from chronic chagasic patients in the northwest of the state of Paran (Brazil), were analyzed using molecular, biochemical and biological characteristics. Genotypic analysis using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and simple sequence repeat-anchored polymerase chain reaction amplified profiles showed a large, genetically well-correlated group that contained the majority of the strains and a divergent group that included the PR-150 strain. For glycoconjugate composition, the PR-150 strain was different from the other strains considering the absence or presence of specific bands in aqueous or detergent phases.