Evidence of Sexual Reproduction in the Protozoan Parasite Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae)

Kreutzer, Richard D.; Yemma, John J.; Grögl, Max; Tesh, Robert B.; Martin, Tricia I.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1994.51.301

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The list of protists in which these meiotic genes have been discovered and for which sexual reproduction has therefore been inferred is growing, and presently includes Entamoeba, Leishmania and Giardia [6], Ostreococcus [7], Trichomonas [8], the choanoflagellate Monosiga [9], algae [10], mycorrhizal fungi [11], the dinoflagellates [12,13], the freshwater amoeba Cochliopodium [14] and the soil amoeba Acanthamoeba [15]. Evidence does exist for sexual processes in a minority of these groups such as Leishmania [16], but there is no evidence for this in others such as Acanthamoeba. It has also been pointed out that these 'meiosis genes' may have other functions such as homologous recombination [12,17] in polyploid organisms including Acanthamoeba [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Meiotic genes’ are constitutively expressed in an asexual amoeba and are not necessarily involved in sexual reproduction

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The amoebae (and many other protists) have traditionally been considered as asexual organisms, but suspicion has been growing that these organisms are cryptically sexual or are at least related to sexual lineages. This contention is mainly based on genome studies in which the presence of ‘meiotic genes’ has been discovered. Using RNA-seq (next-generation shotgun sequencing, identifying and quantifying the RNA species in a sample), we have found that the entire repertoire of meiotic genes is expressed in exponentially growing Acanthamoeba and we argue that these so-called meiotic genes are involved in the related process of homologous recombination in this amoeba. We contend that they are only involved in meiosis in other organisms that indulge in sexual reproduction and that homologous recombination is important in asexual protists as a guard against the accumulation of mutations. We also suggest that asexual reproduction is the ancestral state.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Meiotic genes’ are constitutively expressed in an asexual amoeba and are not necessarily involved in sexual reproduction

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(3,8,16,32,33), further strengthening our findings. Nonetheless, in vitro evidence of sexual reproduction (17,36) and field reports describing hybrids (4,8,10,12) do exist, usually of different species, suggesting rare mating events in nature.…”

Section: Vol 72 2004 Genetic Polymorphism Of L Braziliensis 511mentioning

confidence: 99%

MulticlonalLeishmania braziliensisPopulation Structure and Its Clinical Implication in a Region of Endemicity for American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Corte de Pedra (CP), northeastern Brazil, Leishmania braziliensis causes three distinct forms of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL). To test the hypothesis that strain polymorphism may be involved in this disease spectrum and accurately characterize the parasite population structure in CP, we compared one L. major, two non-CP L. braziliensis, one CP L. amazonensis, and 45 CP L. braziliensis isolates, obtained over a 10-year period from localized cutaneous, mucosal, and disseminated leishmaniasis patients, with randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Electrophoretic profiles were mostly unique across species. All typing protocols revealed polymorphism among the 45 CP L. braziliensis isolates, which displayed eight different RAPD patterns and greater than 80% overall fingerprint identity, attesting to the adequacy of the tools to assess strain variability in CP's geographically limited population of parasites. The dendrogram based on the sum of RAPD profiles of each isolate unveiled nine discrete typing units clustered into five clades. Global positioning showed extensive overlap of these clades in CP, precluding geographic sequestration as the mechanism of the observed structuralization. Finally, all forms of ATL presented a statistically significant difference in their frequencies among the clades, suggesting that L. braziliensis genotypes may be accompanied by specific disease manifestation after infection.

show abstract

“…The largest number of genotypes identified in the Caatinga biome (Figure 2) can indicate the center of origin of L. infantum, which then disseminated to other areas of Bahia, although the colonization process (which took place more than 500 years ago) began in the Bahia foreshore and in other areas of Brazil's northeast. A bottleneck effect, rare mechanisms of exchange of genetic material, small mutations (TIBAYRENC & AYALA, 1999;LYTHGOE, 2000;VICTOIR & DUJARDIN, 2002), and evidence of sexual reproduction (KREUTZER et al, 1994;AKOPYANTS et al, 2009) can also justify the value of Fst and the variability found in the studied strains.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Genetic variability of Leishmania infantum in naturally infected dogs in the state of Bahia, Brazil

Carvalho

Albuquerque

Carneiro

et al. 2017

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Brazil, Leishmania infantum mainly affects humans and dogs. The state of Bahia presents many dogs that are positive for this parasite. Despite the importance of epidemiology in this region, there are still very few studies that have assessed the genetic characteristics of L. infantum. The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic variability of L. infantum isolated identified in naturally infected dogs, in order to verify occurrence of subpopulation of this parasite in the different biomes existing in the state of Bahia. Thirty-two samples of L. infantum were analyzed, which were obtained isolated in dogs from the Mata Atlântica (rainforest), Caatinga (semi-arid scrub forest), and Cerrado (a vast tropical savannah eco-region) Bahia municipalities' biomes. All animals presented with clinical changes suggestive of Leishmania spp. and they exhibited positive reactions to serological tests. kDNA analysis with RFLP markers revealed the presence of genetic variability and gene flow in subpopulations of L. infantum; samples from the Mata Atlântica areas were genetically more similar to those from the areas of Caatinga and they were less likely to resemble those of the Cerrado. This data may be used to investigate the dissemination of parasite in the canine population of state of Bahia.Keywords: Canine Leishmaniasis, PCR-RFLP, populations, enzyme, zoonosis. ResumoNo Brasil a Leishmania infantum afeta principalmente o homem e os cães. O estado da Bahia apresenta elevado número de cães positivos por este parasito. Apesar da importância epidemiologia para a região, ainda há poucos estudos que avaliam as características genéticas de L. infantum. Objetivou-se com este estudo investigar a variabilidade genética de cepas de L. infantum identificadas em cães naturalmente infectados, a fim de verificar a ocorrência de sobpopulações do parasito nos diferentes biomas existentes no estado da Bahia. Foram analisadas 32 amostras de L. infantum isoladas em cães de municípios baianos distribuídos nos biomas Mata Atlântica, Caatinga e Cerrado. Todos os animais apresentavam alterações clínicas sugestivas de Leishmania spp. e reação positiva em exames sorológicos. A análise do kDNA com marcadores RFLP revelaram a presença de variabilidade genética e fluxo gênico nas subpopulações de L. infantum sendo que as amostras das áreas de Mata Atlântica foram geneticamente mais semelhantes as das áreas de Caatinga e foram mais distantes daquelas oriundas do Cerrado. Estas informações podem auxiliar em investigações de dispersão do parasito na população canino do Estado da Bahia.

show abstract

Evidence of Sexual Reproduction in the Protozoan Parasite Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae)

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

‘Meiotic genes’ are constitutively expressed in an asexual amoeba and are not necessarily involved in sexual reproduction

‘Meiotic genes’ are constitutively expressed in an asexual amoeba and are not necessarily involved in sexual reproduction

MulticlonalLeishmania braziliensisPopulation Structure and Its Clinical Implication in a Region of Endemicity for American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis

Genetic variability of Leishmania infantum in naturally infected dogs in the state of Bahia, Brazil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About