title: Multifarious characterization of leishmania tropica from a Judean desert focus, exposing intraspecific diversity and incriminating phlebotomus sergenti as its vector.
abstract: The predominant sand fly species collected inside houses in Kfar Adumim, an Israeli village in the Judean Desert that is a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis, was Phlebotomus papatasi, which was also caught attempting to bite humans. Phlebotomus sergenti, which is rarely seen inside houses, constituted the predominant sand fly species in caves near the village. Leishmania isolates from Ph. sergenti and humans typed as Leishmania tropica. Sand fly and human isolates produced similar small nodular cutaneous lesions in hamsters. Isolates produced excreted factor (EF) of subserotypes A(9) or A(9)B(2), characteristic of L. tropica and reacted with L. tropica-specific monoclonal antibodies. Isoenzyme analysis consigned the strains to the L. tropica zymodemes MON-137 and MON-275. Molecular genetic analyses confirmed the strains were L. tropica and intraspecific microheterogeneity was observed. Genomic fingerprinting using a mini-satellite probe separated the L. tropica strains into two clusters that were not entirely congruent with geographic distribution. These results support the heterogeneous nature of L. tropica and incriminate Ph. sergenti as its vector in this Judean Desert focus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. schnurl@cc.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Lionel F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Schnur
authors.forename: Abdelmageed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasereddin
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Eisenberger
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Fari
authors.forename: Kifaya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Azmi
authors.forename: Gerlind
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.forename: Mireille
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Killick-Kendrick
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Killick-Kendrick
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dedet
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pratlong
authors.forename: Moien
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanaan
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.forename: Raymond L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schonian
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Warburg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D006224:Cricetinae; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003889:Desert Climate; D004592:Electrophoresis, Starch Gel; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D007527:Isoenzymes; D007557:Israel; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D008647:Mesocricetus; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000469:parasitology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012424:Rural Population; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D007527:Isoenzymes