title: Evolutionary genetics and molecular diagnosis of Leishmania species.
abstract: An extensive study has been performed on various natural populations of Leishmania from the 'Old' and 'New Worlds' using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and random amplification of polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid. The data are interpreted in evolutionary genetic terms in order to give a firm basis to studies dealing with the relevant medical properties of pathogens. We confirm that Leishmania undergoes clonal evolution with occasional phenomena of hybridization. This suggests that the microorganism genotypes are stable in space and time and consequently have epidemiological and medical relevance. It is crucial to have a clear definition of the taxa to be identified. In the case of Leishmania, there is at present no firm consensus on the species concept. We propose that any new species of Leishmania should correspond to a 'discrete typing unit' that exhibits specific medical and/or epidemiological characters. Based on this approach, the species status of L. peruviana can be supported. On the contrary, L. panamensis cannot be clearly distinguished from L. guyanensis. Our studies on the genetic diversity of Leishmania show that a given stock is not representative of the genus, the subgenera, or any species. We suggest that the genetic polymorphism of Leishmania has a strong impact on the parasite's biomedical properties.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etudes sur le Polymorphisme des Microorganismes, UMR CNRS-IRD 9926, Centre IRD, 911 Avenue Agropolis, B.P. 5045, 34032 Montpellier, France. banuls@cepm.mpl.ird.fr
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bañuls
authors.forename: Mallorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hide
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tibayrenc
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity