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- Title
Genomic analysis of Leishmania turanica strains from different regions of Central Asia.
- Authors
Novozhilova, Tatiana S.; Chistyakov, Daniil S.; Akhmadishina, Lyudmila V.; Lukashev, Alexander N.; Gerasimov, Evgeny S.; Yurchenko, Vyacheslav
- Abstract
The evolution in Leishmania is governed by the opposite forces of clonality and sexual reproduction, with vicariance being an important factor. As such, Leishmania spp. populations may be monospecific or mixed. Leishmania turanica in Central Asia is a good model to compare these two types. In most areas, populations of L. turanica are mixed with L. gerbilli and L. major. Notably, co-infection with L. turanica in great gerbils helps L. major to withstand a break in the transmission cycle. Conversely, the populations of L. turanica in Mongolia are monospecific and geographically isolated. In this work, we compare genomes of several well-characterized strains of L. turanica originated from monospecific and mixed populations in Central Asia in order to shed light on genetic factors, which may drive evolution of these parasites in different settings. Our results illustrate that evolutionary differences between mixed and monospecific populations of L. turanica are not dramatic. On the level of large-scale genomic rearrangements, we confirmed that different genomic loci and different types of rearrangements may differentiate strains originated from mixed and monospecific populations, with genome translocations being the most prominent example. Our data suggests that L. turanica has a significantly higher level of chromosomal copy number variation between the strains compared to its sister species L. major with only one supernumerary chromosome. This suggests that L. turanica (in contrast to L. major) is in the active phase of evolutionary adaptation. Author summary: Leishmaniasis is one of the major neglected tropical diseases caused by members of the genus Leishmania. It can manifest in the symptoms ranging from rapidly self-healing ulcers in the cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) to systemic multiorgan failures in the cases of visceral leishmaniasis. The CL can be of anthroponotic (ACL, mainly caused by L. tropica) and zoonotic (ZCL, mainly caused by L. major) origin. In Central Asia, great gerbils are the main animal reservoirs for ZCL. These animals may be co-infected with L. major, L. turanica, and L. gerbilli. The evolution in Leishmania is driven by clonality and genetic exchange, with geographical isolation playing an important role. In this sense, Leishmania spp. may either co-exist in the same area (mixed infections) or be geographically isolated without mixing-up with other species (monospecific infections). Leishmania turanica in Central Asia presents a good model to compare these two modes. Indeed, in most areas of great gerbils' distribution, populations of Leishmania spp. are mixed. Conversely, the populations of L. turanica in Mongolia are monospecific and geographically isolated. In this work, we compare genomes of several strains of L. turanica in order to shed light on genetic factors, which may drive evolution of these important parasites.
- Subjects
CENTRAL Asia; MONGOLIA; GENOMICS; LEISHMANIA; VISCERAL leishmaniasis; CUTANEOUS leishmaniasis; MIXED infections; LEISHMANIA mexicana
- Publication
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2023, Vol 16, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
1935-2727
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.pntd.0011145