title: First detection and genetic typing of Leishmania infantum MON-24 in a dog from the Moroccan Mediterranean coast: genetic diversity of MON-24.
abstract: As in the countries edging the Mediterranean basin, Leishmania infantum zymodeme MON-1 is the main causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis in Morocco, where visceral leishmaniasis is most active in the North-Eastern slopes of the Rif mountains. The dog was confirmed to be the main reservoir of L. infantum MON-1, while the reservoir of L. infantum MON-24 causative agent of both infantile visceral leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis has not yet been identified. Here we report the first detection of this last zymodeme in a dog in Morocco. The isolated strain was first identified by the use of genotyping markers and confirmed by isoenzyme analysis. Phylogenetic analysis with the use of concatenated sequences from 26 Leishmania donovani complex strains revealed strong geographical correlation with the MON-24 strain from Morocco clustering with other East African strains whereas two other MON-24 strains clustered with L. infantum strains. Interestingly, the two distinct populations of MON-24 identified with the use of genotyping markers cannot be distinguished by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 127 Bas. Sofias Ave., 115 21 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haralambous
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dakkak
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pratlong
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dedet
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soteriadou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019083:Mediterranean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D009018:Morocco / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan