Chaara Dhekra, Bañuls Anne-Laure, Haouas Najoua, Talignani Loïc, Lami Patrick, Mezhoud Habib, Harrat Zoubir, Dedet Jean-Pierre, Babba Hamouda, Pratlong Francine
Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie Médicale et Moléculaire (code LR12ES08), Département de Biologie Clinique B, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Monastir, Tunisie.
Centre National de Référence des Leishmanioses, Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHRU de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 Dec 8;9(12):e0004204. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004204. eCollection 2015 Dec.
Leishmania (L.) killicki (syn. L. tropica), which causes cutaneous leishmaniasis in Maghreb, was recently described in this region and identified as a subpopulation of L. tropica. The present genetic analysis was conducted to explore the spatio-temporal distribution of L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) and its transmission dynamics. To better understand the evolution of this parasite, its population structure was then compared with that of L. tropica populations from Morocco. In total 198 samples including 85 L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) (from Tunisia, Algeria and Libya) and 113 L. tropica specimens (all from Morocco) were tested. Theses samples were composed of 168 Leishmania strains isolated from human skin lesions, 27 DNA samples from human skin lesion biopsies, two DNA samples from Ctenodactylus gundi bone marrow and one DNA sample from a Phlebotomus sergenti female. The sample was analyzed by using MultiLocus Enzyme Electrophoresis (MLEE) and MultiLocus Microsatellite Typing (MLMT) approaches. Analysis of the MLMT data support the hypothesis that L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) belongs to the L. tropica complex, despite its strong genetic differentiation, and that it emerged from this taxon by a founder effect. Moreover, it revealed a strong structuring in L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) between Tunisia and Algeria and within the different Tunisian regions, suggesting low dispersion of L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) in space and time. Comparison of the L. tropica (exclusively from Morocco) and L. killicki (syn. L. tropica) population structures revealed distinct genetic organizations, reflecting different epidemiological cycles.
利什曼原虫（L.）基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）可在马格里布地区引发皮肤利什曼病，该物种最近在这一地区被发现，并被鉴定为热带利什曼原虫的一个亚种群。开展本次基因分析旨在探究基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）的时空分布及其传播动态。为了更好地理解这种寄生虫的进化过程，随后将其种群结构与来自摩洛哥的热带利什曼原虫种群结构进行了比较。总共检测了198个样本，其中包括85个基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）样本（来自突尼斯、阿尔及利亚和利比亚）以及113个热带利什曼原虫样本（均来自摩洛哥）。这些样本包括从人类皮肤病变中分离出的168株利什曼原虫菌株、来自人类皮肤病变活检的27个DNA样本、来自梳趾鼠骨髓的2个DNA样本以及来自赛氏白蛉雌性个体的1个DNA样本。通过多位点酶电泳（MLEE）和多位点微卫星分型（MLMT）方法对样本进行了分析。对MLMT数据的分析支持了以下假设：尽管基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）具有很强的遗传分化，但它仍属于热带利什曼原虫复合体，并且它是通过奠基者效应从该分类单元中分化出来的。此外，分析还揭示了突尼斯和阿尔及利亚之间以及突尼斯不同地区内基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）的强烈结构差异，这表明基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）在空间和时间上的扩散程度较低。对热带利什曼原虫（仅来自摩洛哥）和基利克种（同义词：热带利什曼原虫）种群结构的比较揭示了不同的遗传组织，反映了不同的流行病学循环。
