Genome-wide SNP and microsatellite variation illuminate population-level epidemiology in the Leishmania donovani species complex.

ABSTRACT: The species of the Leishmania donovani species complex cause visceral leishmaniasis, a debilitating infectious disease transmitted by sandflies. Understanding molecular changes associated with population structure in these parasites can help unravel their epidemiology and spread in humans. In this study, we used a panel of standard microsatellite loci and genome-wide SNPs to investigate population-level diversity in L. donovani strains recently isolated from a small geographic area spanning India, Bihar and Nepal, and compared their variation to that found in diverse strains of the L. donovani complex isolates from Europe, Africa and Asia. Microsatellites and SNPs could clearly resolve the phylogenetic relationships of the strains between continents, and microsatellite phylogenies indicate

SUBMITTER: Downing T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3315668 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature