RESUMEN

Correlations between the genetic diversity of Leishmania infantum (syn. L. chagasi) isolates and their respective geographic origins support the theoretic assumption that visceral leishmaniasis probably originated in the Old World. Because dogs are widely considered to be the main reservoir of this disease, the present study aimed to investigate the degree of genetic divergence among 44 leishmanial canine isolates from two Brazilian cities, Jequié and Campo Grande, located approximately 2,028 km from each other. We hypothesized that a low degree of genetic divergence would be observed among these isolates. In fact, statistical analyses found no significant differences between the isolates using both random amplified polymorphic DNA and multilocus microsatellite typing genotyping techniques with three and seven markers, respectively. These findings provide support for the recent introduction of L. infantum into the New World.

Asunto(s)

Enfermedades de los Perros/parasitología , Perros/parasitología , Leishmania infantum/genética , Leishmaniasis Visceral/veterinaria , Animales , Brasil/epidemiología , Dermatoglifia del ADN/métodos , ADN Protozoario/genética , ADN Protozoario/aislamiento & purificación , Enfermedades de los Perros/epidemiología , Variación Genética , Genotipo , Leishmania infantum/aislamiento & purificación , Leishmaniasis Visceral/epidemiología , Leishmaniasis Visceral/parasitología , Repeticiones de Microsatélite , Tipificación de Secuencias Multilocus/métodos , Técnica del ADN Polimorfo Amplificado Aleatorio/métodos