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Molecular approaches for a better understanding of the epidemiology and population genetics of Leishmania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2010

G. SCHÖNIAN ,
K. KUHLS  and
I. L. MAURICIO
G. SCHÖNIAN*
Affiliation:
Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Dorotheenstrasse 96, D-10117 Berlin, Germany
K. KUHLS
Affiliation:
Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Dorotheenstrasse 96, D-10117 Berlin, Germany
I. L. MAURICIO
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT London, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Campus Mitte, Dorotheenstrasse 96, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49 30 450524028. Fax: +49-30-450524902. E-mail: gabriele.schoenian@charite.de
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Summary

Molecular approaches are being used increasingly for epidemiological studies of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniases. Several molecular markers resolving genetic differences between Leishmania parasites at species and strain levels have been developed to address key epidemiological and population genetic questions. The current gold standard, multilocus enzyme typing (MLEE), needs cultured parasites and lacks discriminatory power. PCR assays identifying species directly with clinical samples have proven useful in numerous field studies. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is potentially the most powerful phylogenetic approach and will, most probably, replace MLEE in the future. Multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) is able to discriminate below the zymodeme level and seems to be the best candidate for becoming the gold standard for distinction of strains. Population genetic studies by MLMT revealed geographical and hierarchic population structure in L. tropica, L. major and the L. donovani complex. The existence of hybrids and gene flow between Leishmania populations suggests that sexual recombination is more frequent than previously thought. However, typing and analytical tools need to be further improved. Accessible databases should be created and sustained for integrating data obtained by different researchers. This would allow for global analyses and help to avoid biases in analyses due to small sample sizes.

Keywords

Leishmaniamolecular markersphylogenypopulation geneticsmultilocus sequence typingmultilocus microsatellite typing
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 4 , April 2011 , pp. 405 - 425
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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