KDNA genetic signatures obtained by LSSP-PCR analysis of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum isolated from the new and the old world.
BACKGROUND
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) caused by species from the Leishmania donovani complex is the most severe form of the disease, lethal if untreated. VL caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonosis with an increasing number of human cases and millions of dogs infected in the Old and the New World. In this study, L. infantum (syn. L.chagasi) strains were isolated from human and canine VL cases. The strains were obtained from endemic areas from Brazil and Portugal and their genetic polymorphism was ascertained using the LSSP-PCR (Low-Stringency Single Specific Primer PCR) technique for analyzing the kinetoplastid DNA (kDNA) minicircles hypervariable region.


RESULTS
KDNA genetic signatures obtained by minicircle LSSP-PCR analysis of forty L. infantum strains allowed the grouping of strains in several clades. Furthermore, LSSP-PCR profiles of L. infantum subpopulations were closely related to the host origin (human or canine). To our knowledge this is the first study which used this technique to compare genetic polymorphisms among strains of L. infantum originated from both the Old and the New World.


CONCLUSIONS
LSSP-PCR profiles obtained by analysis of L. infantum kDNA hypervariable region of parasites isolated from human cases and infected dogs from Brazil and Portugal exhibited a genetic correlation among isolates originated from the same reservoir, human or canine. However, no association has been detected among the kDNA signatures and the geographical origin of L. infantum strains.
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Janaína Sousa Campos
JS
Alvarenga
Carla Maia
CM
Ligeiro
Célia Maria Ferreira
CM
Gontijo
Sofia
S
Cortes
Lenea
L
Campino
Annamaria Ravara
AR
Vago
Maria Norma
MN
Melo
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001938:Brazil; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011174:Portugal; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000469:parasitology
D017931:DNA Primers; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast; D016054:DNA, Protozoan