title: Leptomonas seymouri: Adaptations to the Dixenous Life Cycle Analyzed by Genome Sequencing, Transcriptome Profiling and Co-infection with Leishmania donovani.
abstract: The co-infection cases involving dixenous Leishmania spp. (mostly of the L. donovani complex) and presumably monoxenous trypanosomatids in immunocompromised mammalian hosts including humans are well documented. The main opportunistic parasite has been identified as Leptomonas seymouri of the sub-family Leishmaniinae. The molecular mechanisms allowing a parasite of insects to withstand elevated temperature and substantially different conditions of vertebrate tissues are not understood. Here we demonstrate that L. seymouri is well adapted for the environment of the warm-blooded host. We sequenced the genome and compared the whole transcriptome profiles of this species cultivated at low and high temperatures (mimicking the vector and the vertebrate host, respectively) and identified genes and pathways differentially expressed under these experimental conditions. Moreover, Leptomonas seymouri was found to persist for several days in two species of Phlebotomus spp. implicated in Leishmania donovani transmission. Despite of all these adaptations, L. seymouri remains a predominantly monoxenous species not capable of infecting vertebrate cells under normal conditions.
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Natalya
authors: N
authors: Kraeva
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Anzhelika
authors: A
authors: Butenko
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors: Jana
authors: J
authors: Hlaváčová
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic; Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors: Alexei
authors: A
authors: Kostygov
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors: Jitka
authors: J
authors: Myškova
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Danyil
authors: D
authors: Grybchuk
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors: Tereza
authors: T
authors: Leštinová
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Votýpka
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors: Petr
authors: P
authors: Volf
authors: de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Fred
authors: F
authors: Opperdoes
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic; Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors: Pavel
authors: P
authors: Flegontov
authors: Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Julius
authors: J
authors: Lukeš
authors: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic; Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America.
authors: Vyacheslav
authors: V
authors: Yurchenko
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D060085:Coinfection / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D056986:Euglenozoa Infections / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D007893:Leishmania donovani; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000382:microbiology; D059467:Transcriptome; D014351:Trypanosomatina / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development