Project description:The genomic DNAs of strains JPCM5 and 263 of L. infantum, strains LV39 and Friedlin of L. major and strains Parrot-TarII and S125 of L. tarentolae were used in comparative genomic hybridizations to reveal the intra-species and inter-species gene content, and to validate L. tarentolae Parrot-TarII genome sequencing results. Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae was first isolated in the lizard Tarentola mauritanica. This species is not known to be pathogenic to humans but is often used as a model organism for molecular analyses or protein overproduction. The Leishmania tarentolae Parrot-TarII strain genome sequence was resolved by high-throughput sequencing technologies. The L. tarentolae genome was first assembled de novo and then aligned against the reference L. major Friedlin genome to facilitate contig positioning and annotation, providing a 23-fold coverage of the genome. This is the first non-pathogenic to humans kinetoplastid protozoan genome to be described, and it provides an opportunity for comparison with the completed genomes of the pathogenic Leishmania species. A high synteny was observed in de novo assembled contigs between all sequenced Leishmania species. A number of limited chromosomal regions diverged between L. tarentolae and L. infantum, while remaining syntenic with L. major. Globally, over 90% of the L. tarentolae gene content was shared with the other Leishmania species. There were 250 L. major genes absent from L. tarentolae, and interestingly these missing genes were primarily expressed in the intracellular amastigote stage of the pathogenic parasites. This implies that L. tarentolae may have impaired ability to survive as an intracellular parasite. In contrast to other Leishmania genomes, two gene families were expanded in L. tarentolae, namely the leishmanolysin (GP63) and a gene related to the promastigote surface antigen (PSA31C). Overall, L. tarentolae appears to have a gene content more adapted to the insect stage rather than the mammalian one. This may partly explain its inability to replicate within mammalian macrophages and its suspected preferred life style as promastigote in the lizards.

Project description:BackgroundVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an ongoing health problem in southern Europe, where dogs are considered the main reservoirs of the disease. Current data point to a northward spread of VL and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in Italy, with new foci in northern regions previously regarded as non-endemic.Methodology/principal findingsMultilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) was performed to investigate genetic diversity and population structure of L. infantum on 55 samples from infected humans, dogs and sand flies of the E-R region between 2013 and 2017. E-R samples were compared with 10 L. infantum samples from VL cases in other Italian regions (extra E-R) and with 52 strains within the L. donovani complex. Data displayed significant microsatellite polymorphisms with low allelic heterozygosity. Forty-one unique and eight repeated MLMT profiles were recognized among the L. infantum samples from E-R, and ten unique MLMT profiles were assigned to the extra E-R samples. Bayesian analysis assigned E-R samples to two distinct populations, with further sub-structuring within each of them; all CanL samples belonged to one population, genetically related to Mediterranean MON-1 strains, while all but one VL cases as well as the isolate from the sand fly Phlebotomus perfiliewi fell under the second population. Conversely, VL samples from other Italian regions proved to be genetically similar to strains circulating in dogs.Conclusions/significanceA peculiar epidemiological situation was observed in northeastern Italy, with the co-circulation of two distinct populations of L. infantum; one population mainly detected in dogs and the other population detected in humans and in a sand fly. While the classical cycle of CanL in Italy fits well into the data obtained for the first population, the population found in infected humans exhibits a different cycle, probably not involving a canine reservoir. This study can contribute to a better understanding of the population structure of L. infantum circulating in northeastern Italy, thus providing useful epidemiologic information for public health authorities.

Project description:The genomic DNAs of strains JPCM5 and 263 of L. infantum, strains LV39 and Friedlin of L. major and strains Parrot-TarII and S125 of L. tarentolae were used in comparative genomic hybridizations to reveal the intra-species and inter-species gene content, and to validate L. tarentolae Parrot-TarII genome sequencing results. Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae was first isolated in the lizard Tarentola mauritanica. This species is not known to be pathogenic to humans but is often used as a model organism for molecular analyses or protein overproduction. The Leishmania tarentolae Parrot-TarII strain genome sequence was resolved by high-throughput sequencing technologies. The L. tarentolae genome was first assembled de novo and then aligned against the reference L. major Friedlin genome to facilitate contig positioning and annotation, providing a 23-fold coverage of the genome. This is the first non-pathogenic to humans kinetoplastid protozoan genome to be described, and it provides an opportunity for comparison with the completed genomes of the pathogenic Leishmania species. A high synteny was observed in de novo assembled contigs between all sequenced Leishmania species. A number of limited chromosomal regions diverged between L. tarentolae and L. infantum, while remaining syntenic with L. major. Globally, over 90% of the L. tarentolae gene content was shared with the other Leishmania species. There were 250 L. major genes absent from L. tarentolae, and interestingly these missing genes were primarily expressed in the intracellular amastigote stage of the pathogenic parasites. This implies that L. tarentolae may have impaired ability to survive as an intracellular parasite. In contrast to other Leishmania genomes, two gene families were expanded in L. tarentolae, namely the leishmanolysin (GP63) and a gene related to the promastigote surface antigen (PSA31C). Overall, L. tarentolae appears to have a gene content more adapted to the insect stage rather than the mammalian one. This may partly explain its inability to replicate within mammalian macrophages and its suspected preferred life style as promastigote in the lizards. Six strains of three Leishmania species were hybridizated to 12 microarrays, each with four biological replicates (independent cultures). Supplementary file: Represents final results obtained after statistical analysis of all replicates.

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Revisiting the heterogeneous global genomic population structure of Leishmania infantum.

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