title: Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Leishmania infantum from Southeastern France: Evaluation Using Multi-Locus Microsatellite Typing.
abstract: In the south of France, Leishmania infantum is responsible for numerous cases of canine leishmaniasis (CanL), sporadic cases of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and rare cases of cutaneous and muco-cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL and MCL, respectively). Several endemic areas have been clearly identified in the south of France including the Pyrénées-Orientales, Cévennes (CE), Provence (P), Alpes-Maritimes (AM) and Corsica (CO). Within these endemic areas, the two cities of Nice (AM) and Marseille (P), which are located 150 km apart, and their surroundings, concentrate the greatest number of French autochthonous leishmaniasis cases. In this study, 270 L. infantum isolates from an extended time period (1978-2011) from four endemic areas, AM, P, CE and CO, were assessed using Multi-Locus Microsatellite Typing (MLMT). MLMT revealed a total of 121 different genotypes with 91 unique genotypes and 30 repeated genotypes. Substantial genetic diversity was found with a strong genetic differentiation between the Leishmania populations from AM and P. However, exchanges were observed between these two endemic areas in which it seems that strains spread from AM to P. The genetic differentiations in these areas suggest strong epidemiological structuring. A model-based analysis using STRUCTURE revealed two main populations: population A (consisting of samples primarily from the P and AM endemic areas with MON-1 and non-MON-1 strains) and population B consisting of only MON-1 strains essentially from the AM endemic area. For four patients, we observed several isolates from different biological samples which provided insight into disease relapse and re-infection. These findings shed light on the transmission dynamics of parasites in humans. However, further data are required to confirm this hypothesis based on a limited sample set. This study represents the most extensive population analysis of L. infantum strains using MLMT conducted in France.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1065, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, C3M, Toxines Microbiennes dans la Relation Hôte-Pathogènes, Nice, France.|Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté de Médecine, Nice, France.|Parasitologie-Mycologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire l'Archet, CS 23079 06202, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pomares
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1065, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, C3M, Toxines Microbiennes dans la Relation Hôte-Pathogènes, Nice, France.|Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté de Médecine, Nice, France.|Parasitologie-Mycologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire l'Archet, CS 23079 06202, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Anne Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bañuls
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1065, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, C3M, Toxines Microbiennes dans la Relation Hôte-Pathogènes, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lemichez
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France.|Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHRU de Montpellier, Centre National de Référence des Leishmanioses, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pratlong
authors.affiliation: Service des Maladies Infectieuses, CHU Hôpital Nord, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Faucher
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, UMR MD3, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Fakhri
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jeddi
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, UMR MD3, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1065, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, C3M, Toxines Microbiennes dans la Relation Hôte-Pathogènes, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1065, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, C3M, Toxines Microbiennes dans la Relation Hôte-Pathogènes, Nice, France.|Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Srikanth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aluru
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, UMR MD3, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piarroux
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Mallorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hide
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005602:France; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny