- University of Tennessee at Knoxville United States
- Université Paris Diderot France
- University of Limoges France
International audience; Toxoplasma gondii is a highly successful parasite that is thought to infect nearly one third of the world's population. Molecular epidemiology studies have illuminated the population structure of T. gondii strains world-wide and enabled insights into how the parasite is transmitted and the frequency of genetic exchange. Toxoplasma population genetics studies have shown that in North America and Europe, three genotypes have predominated whereas other diverse genotypes have propagated in other parts of the world, particularly in Central and South America. This chapter summarizes the techniques used to understand the population structure of T. gondii and how these techniques have also been helpful in understanding outbreaks of toxoplasmosis. As technology has advanced, more in-depth studies have facilitated our understanding of how differing genotypes can be linked to biological phenotypes including human disease.