title: Comparative genomics of canine-isolated Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, southeastern Brazil.
abstract: Leishmaniasis is a highly diverse group of diseases caused by kinetoplastid of the genus Leishmania. These parasites are taxonomically diverse, with human pathogenic species separated into two subgenera according to their development site inside the alimentary tract of the sand fly insect vector. The disease encompasses a variable spectrum of clinical manifestations with tegumentary or visceral symptoms. Among the causative species in Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is an important etiological agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis that accounts for more than 8% of all cases in endemic regions. L. (L.) amazonensis is generally found in the north and northeast regions of Brazil. Here, we report the first isolation of L. (L.) amazonensis from dogs with clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, an endemic focus in the southeastern Brazilian State of Minas Gerais where L. (L.) infantum is also endemic. These isolates were characterized in terms of SNPs, chromosome and gene copy number variations, confirming that they are closely related to a previously sequenced isolate obtained in 1973 from the typical Northern range of this species. The results presented in this article will increase our knowledge of L. (L.) amazonensis-specific adaptations to infection, parasite survival and the transmission of this Amazonian species in a new endemic area of Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Imunologia e Genômica de Parasitos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.|Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, Peru.
authors.forename: Hugo O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Imunologia e Genômica de Parasitos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laila V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Roatt
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Imunologia e Genômica de Parasitos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Luís
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Reis-Cunha
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Agnes Antônia Sampaio
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gontijo
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Imunologia e Genômica de Parasitos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Toshio
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Mandy J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Imunologia e Genômica de Parasitos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.|Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, Peru.
authors.forename: Daniella C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bartholomeu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000662:veterinary; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide