A diagnostic assay based on variable intergenic region distinguishes between Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum.
We have developed a PCR assay that in a single reaction distinguishes between Leishmania infantum and Leishmania donovani strains on the basis of different size of the amplicon. The targeted intergenic region between putative biopterin transporter and nucleotide binding protein on chromosome 35 is highly variable, species-specific and can be amplified from clinical samples. Based on the assay, five tested Leishmania archibaldi and L. infantun strains from the Sudan and Ethiopia clearly belong to L. donovani, which is in accordance with a recent multifactorial analysis of these strains. The nucleotide sequence reported in this paper has been submitted to the GenBankTM with accession number EU068004.
Chocholová
Eva
E
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovská 31,370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Jirků
Milan
M
Lukes
Julius
J
D000818:Animals; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005002:Ethiopia; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013397:Sudan
D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D015800:Protozoan Proteins