Rhoptry Proteins ROP5 and ROP18 Are Major Murine Virulence Factors in Genetically Divergent South American Strains of Toxoplasma gondii.
Toxoplasma gondii has evolved a number of strategies to evade immune responses in its many hosts.Previous genetic mapping of crosses between clonal type 1, 2, and 3 strains of T.gondii, which are prevalent in Europe and North America, identified two rhoptry proteins, ROP5 and ROP18, that function together to block innate immune mechanisms activated