Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Insights into the Genetic Diversity of Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis in Panama Inferred by Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST)

Version 1 : Received: 26 April 2023 / Approved: 27 April 2023 / Online: 27 April 2023 (04:04:59 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Mendieta, D.; Vásquez, V.; Jaén, L.; Pineda, V.; Saldaña, A.; Calzada, J.E.; Samudio, F. Insights into the Genetic Diversity of Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis in Panama, Inferred via Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). Pathogens 2023, 12, 747. Mendieta, D.; Vásquez, V.; Jaén, L.; Pineda, V.; Saldaña, A.; Calzada, J.E.; Samudio, F. Insights into the Genetic Diversity of Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis in Panama, Inferred via Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). Pathogens 2023, 12, 747.

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasites of Leishmania genus and transmitted by sand fly vectors. Tegumentary leishmaniasis is the most prevalent clinical outcome in Latin America afflicting people from 18 countries. In Panama, leishmaniasis has annual incidence rates as high as 3000 cases, representing therefore one of the major public health problems. In endemic regions, L. panamensis is responsible for almost eighty percent of the human cases that present different clinical outcomes. This differences in disease outcomes could be result of the local interplay between L. panamensis variants and human hosts with different genetic backgrounds. The genetic diversity of L. panamensis in Panama has only been partially explored, and the variability reported for this species is based on few studies restricted to small populations and/or with poor resolutive markers at low taxonomic levels. Accordingly, in this study we explored the genetic diversity of sixty-nine L. panamensis isolates from different endemic regions of Panama using a MLST approach based on four housekeeping genes (Aconitase, ALAT, GPI and HSP70). Two to seven haplotypes per locus were identified, and regional differences in L. panamensis genetic diversity were observed. Genotype analysis evidenced the circulation of thirteen L. panamensis genotypes, a fact that might have important implications for the local control of the disease.

Keywords

tegumentary leishmaniasis; Leishmania panamensis; multilocus typing, diploid sequence type, Panama

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Parasitology

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