Schwabl Philipp, Boité Mariana C, Bussotti Giovanni, Jacobs Arne, Andersson Bjorn, Moreira Otacilio, Freitas-Mesquita Anita L, Meyer-Fernandes Jose Roberto, Telleria Erich L, Traub-Csekö Yara, Vaselek Slavica, Leštinová Tereza, Volf Petr, Morgado Fernanda N, Porrozzi Renato, Llewellyn Martin, Späth Gerald F, Cupolillo Elisa
School of Life Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK.
Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, 21040-365, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Commun Biol. 2021 Jan 29;4(1):139. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-01658-5.
Leishmania infantum causes visceral leishmaniasis, a deadly vector-borne disease introduced to the Americas during the colonial era. This non-native trypanosomatid parasite has since established widespread transmission cycles using alternative vectors, and human infection has become a significant concern to public health, especially in Brazil. A multi-kilobase deletion was recently detected in Brazilian L. infantum genomes and is suggested to reduce susceptibility to the anti-leishmanial drug miltefosine. We show that deletion-carrying strains occur in at least 15 Brazilian states and describe diversity patterns suggesting that these derive from common ancestral mutants rather than from recurrent independent mutation events. We also show that the deleted locus and associated enzymatic activity is restored by hybridization with non-deletion type strains. Genetic exchange appears common in areas of secondary contact but also among closely related parasites. We examine demographic and ecological scenarios underlying this complex L. infantum population structure and discuss implications for disease control.
婴儿利什曼原虫可引发内脏利什曼病，这是一种在殖民时代传入美洲的致命媒介传播疾病。自那时起，这种非本地的锥虫寄生虫利用替代媒介建立了广泛的传播循环，人类感染已成为公共卫生的重大问题，尤其是在巴西。最近在巴西婴儿利什曼原虫基因组中检测到一个多千碱基的缺失，这被认为会降低对抗利什曼药物米替福新的敏感性。我们发现携带缺失的菌株至少出现在巴西的15个州，并描述了多样性模式，表明这些菌株源自共同的祖先突变体，而非反复的独立突变事件。我们还表明，通过与非缺失型菌株杂交，缺失位点及相关酶活性得以恢复。基因交换在二次接触区域似乎很常见，在亲缘关系密切的寄生虫之间也是如此。我们研究了这种复杂的婴儿利什曼原虫种群结构背后的人口统计学和生态学情况，并讨论了其对疾病控制的影响。
