Genetic polymorphism of Leishmania species using kinetoplast DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism and cDNA probe of Leishmania donovani

• Published in: Medical microbiology and immunology Vol. 186; no. 4; pp. 209 - 214
• Main Authors: KAPOOR, G. S, ARORA, S. K, SEHGAL, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01-03-1998
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; DNA, Complementary; DNA, Kinetoplast - genetics; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; Germany; Human protozoal diseases; India; Infectious diseases; Leishmania - classification; Leishmania - genetics; Leishmania - isolation & purification; Leishmania donovani; Leishmania donovani - classification; Leishmania donovani - genetics; Leishmania donovani - isolation & purification; Leshmaniasis; Medical sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; Parasitic diseases; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Protozoal diseases; Saudi Arabia; Species Specificity; Saudi Arabia; Germany; India; Kinetoplastida; Parasitological investigation; Protozoa; Protozoal disease; Parasitology; Genetic variability; Leishmania donovani; Exploration; Parasitosis; Leishmaniasis; Infection; Restriction fragment length polymorphism; Complementary DNA; Genetics; Kinetoplast DNA; Molecular probe; Molecular biology; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 0300-8584; 1432-1831
• DOI: 10.1007/s004300050066

Leishmaniasis represents a group of diseases that range from simple cutaneous lesions through metastasizing diffused cutaneous to severe systemic infection depending upon the taxon to which the causative parasite belongs. Therefore, it is important to identify the infecting Leishmania. Methods presently being used, including immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology have one or the other limitations, leaving scope for the search for newer probes. This study reports the characterization of leishmania isolates both by restriction fragment length polymorphism of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) and genomic DNA. The genomic DNA was probed with a cDNA probe B2a1. Using a kDNA restriction pattern technique, different isolates of Leishmania donovani could be differentiated from the UR6 strain of L. tropica, but it was not possible to differentiate between newer local isolates of L. donovani with most of the restriction enzymes except AluI. However, the B2a1 cDNA probe was able to differentiate these isolates effectively. Both of these techniques could differentiate newer local isolates of L. donovani from the older isolates of L. donovani from India, i.e., DD8, RMRI and SS. The Indian isolates of L. donovani could also be differentiated from isolates of L. donovani from Jeddah and Germany using both techniques. The present study indicates that the cDNA probe B2a1 can be used as an important adjunct to kDNA restriction analysis for the characterization of Leishmania species.