Sharbatkhori Mitra, Spotin Adel, Taherkhani Heshmatollah, Roshanghalb Mona, Parvizi Parviz
Molecular Systematics Laboratory, Parasitology Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
J Vector Borne Dis. 2014 Mar;51(1):16-21.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: In the well-known zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) focus in Turkmen Sahara, border of Iran and Turkmenistan, ZCL has increased among humans in the past five years. The present study was undertaken to incriminate vectors of ZCL in the region, and to find molecular variation in Leishmania parasites.
The sandflies were sampled using CDC light-traps and sticky papers. All the sandflies were identified using morphological characters of the head and abdominal terminalia. DNA was extracted from the dissected thorax and attached anterior abdomen of individual female sandfly. Leishmania detection and identification of sandflies were performed using PCR, digestion of BsuRI restriction enzyme and sequencing of ITS-rDNA gene and also by semi-nested PCR to amplify minicircle kinetoplast (k) DNA of Leishmania.
Leishmania infections were detected in 26 out of 206 female sandflies. Of the infected sandflies, 18 were Phlebotomus papatasi while eight were P. caucasicus/P. mongolensis. Two infections of L. turnica were detected, one in P. papatasi and other in P. caucasicus/P. mongolensis and the rest of the sandflies were found infected with L. major.
Our finding showed that L. major had low diversity with only one common haplotype (GenBank Access No. EF413075). The novel haplotypes were discovered in L. major (GenBank Access No. KF152937) and in L. turanica (GenBank Access No. EF413079) in low frequency. These Leishmania parasites are circulating to maintain infections in the P. papatasi and P. caucasicus/P. mongolensis in Turkmen Sahara.
在伊朗与土库曼斯坦边境的土库曼撒哈拉地区，这一著名的人畜共患皮肤利什曼病（ZCL）疫源地，过去五年间ZCL在人类中的发病率有所上升。本研究旨在确定该地区ZCL的传播媒介，并探寻利什曼原虫寄生虫的分子变异情况。
使用疾控中心诱蚊灯和粘纸对白蛉进行采样。所有白蛉均依据头部和腹部末端的形态特征进行鉴定。从解剖后的单个雌性白蛉胸部及相连的前腹部提取DNA。利用PCR、BsuRI限制性内切酶消化、ITS-rDNA基因测序以及半巢式PCR扩增利什曼原虫的微小环动质体（k）DNA，对白蛉进行利什曼原虫的检测与鉴定。
在206只雌性白蛉中，检测到26只感染利什曼原虫。在感染的白蛉中，18只为巴氏白蛉，8只为高加索白蛉/蒙古白蛉。检测到两例图尔卡利什曼原虫感染，一例在巴氏白蛉中，另一例在高加索白蛉/蒙古白蛉中，其余白蛉均感染硕大利什曼原虫。
我们的研究结果表明，硕大利什曼原虫多样性较低，仅有一个常见单倍型（GenBank登录号：EF413075）。在硕大利什曼原虫（GenBank登录号：KF152937）和图兰利什曼原虫（GenBank登录号：EF413079）中发现了低频的新单倍型。这些利什曼原虫寄生虫在土库曼撒哈拉地区的巴氏白蛉和高加索白蛉/蒙古白蛉中循环传播，维持感染状态。
