title: Deletion of an ATP-binding cassette protein subfamily C transporter in Leishmania donovani results in increased virulence.
abstract: Genome comparison of Leishmania species sequenced to date has identified several hundred differentially distributed genes which are present as functional genes in some species but as pseudogenes or absent in others. It is not clear whether these differentially distributed genes are important for disease, redundant or even harmful for a particular Leishmania species though a few of these genes have been implicated in Leishmania infection tissue tropism. The L. infantum LinJ.24.1510 gene is an ATP-binding cassette transporter protein subfamily C member which is present in L. donovani complex species and L. mexicana but absent in L. major and L. braziliensis and its substrate is unknown. Experimental deletion of this gene from L. donovani has resulted in an increase in growth as axenic amastigotes and increased virulence in infecting mice. To our knowledge, this is the first gene identified in Leishmania where its deletion results in hypervirulence.
authors: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3A 2B4. wenwei.zhang@mcgill.ca
authors: Wen-Wei
authors: WW
authors: Zhang
authors: Greg
authors: G
authors: Matlashewski
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D015800:Protozoan Proteins