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.
Highlights
Leishmaniasis is a highly diverse group of diseases caused by kinetoplastid of the genus Leishmania
We present the results of a comparative genomic analysis of two L. (L.) amazonensis strains isolated from dogs with clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis in the city of Governador Valadares
Molecular genotyping indicates that isolates S3 and S6 belonged to the Leishmania mexicana complex due to the matched restriction profile with L. (L.) amazonensis/L. (L.) mexicana (Supplementary Fig. S3) whereas the remaining 34 isolates were genotyped as L. (L.) infantum
Summary
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. Leishmaniasis encompasses a group of diverse clinical diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania These diseases are endemic in 98 countries and pose a risk to 350 million people, with 1.5 million new cases per year[1,2]. Leishmaniasis is known to encompass a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, with different symptoms being primarily associated with infections with different Leishmania species[2] These distinct disease features have been classified into tegumentary (TL; known as cutaneous leishmaniasis or CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL)
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