The existence of only one haplotype of Leishmania major in the main and potential reservoir hosts of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis using different molecular markers in a focal area in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Leishmania major is the causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), and great gerbils are the main reservoir hosts in Iran. Abarkouh in central Iran is an emerging focal point for which the reservoir hosts of ZCL are unclear. This research project was designed to detect any Leishmania parasites in different wild rodent species. Methods: All rodents captured in 2011 and 2012 from Abarkouh district were identifi ed based on morphological characteristics and by amplifi cation of the rodent cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene. To detect Leishmania infection in rodents, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of each ear was extracted. Internal transcribed spacer-ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (ITS-rDNA), microsatellites, kinetoplast deoxyribonucleic acid (kDNA) and cytochrome b genes of Leishmania parasites were amplifi ed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing were employed to confi rm the Leishmania identifi cation. Results: Of 68 captured rodents in the region, 55 Rhombomys opimus were identifi ed and nine Leishmania infections (9/55) were found. In addition, eight Meriones libycus and two Tatera indica were sampled, and one of each was confi rmed to be infected. Two Meriones persicus and one Mus musculus were sampled with no infection. Conclusions: The results showed that all 11 unambiguously positive Leishmania infections were Leishmania major. Only one haplotype of L. major (GenBank access No. EF413075) was found and at least three rodents R. opimus, M. libycus and T. indica-appear to be the main and potential reservoir hosts in this ZCL focus. The reservoir hosts are variable and versatile in small ZCL focal locations.

A Systematic Review (1990–2021) of Wild Animals Infected with Zoonotic Leishmania

“…Eleven species of rodents were reported as infected with the parasite in nine studies from Iran, and another one from Israel (Supplementary Materials File S5), following the same tendency of other zoonotic species of Leishmania included in the systematic review. The higher prevalence was found in Meriones libycus by PCR of kDNA in the skin [177], which is also the species most studied regarding Leishmania infections in Iran [167][168][169][170][171]173,177,178]. Other species of Meriones (M. hurrianae, M. persicus and M tristrami) and Microtus (M. guentheri and M. socialis) were reported to be infected with parasites with values of 5.7-58.3% [161,168,171,179].…”

Echinococcus shiquicus and Echinococcus felidis

“…Mutations occurred in the non-synonymous sites (called replacement sites because mutations at these sites lead to a change in the protein sequence) and the synonymous sites (called silent sites because mutations there do not lead to a change in the protein sequence) [6,7]. It is worth noting that the nucleotide substitutions (Transition/Tranversion models) and/or indels (insertion or deletion) in the first and second positions of codons usually lead to create a new species/strain, which directly affect the frame shift of amino acids in case of any amino acid shifting or changing protein functionality while, changing in third position of codons (wobble site) is frequently leaded to creating novel haplotypes [8][9][10][11].…”

The burden of leishmaniasis in Iran, acquired from the global burden of disease during 1990–2010

“…[1,2]. Based on World Health Organization reports and others, leishmaniasis is classified as a neglected tropical disease [3][4][5]; among all tropical diseases, leishmaniasis is ranked the second in mortality and the fourth in morbidity [6][7][8][9]. Leishmaniasis is estimated to cause the ninth largest disease burden among individual infectious diseases; however, as a tropical disease, it has been largely overlooked in the discussion of priorities [1].…”

“…Iran is one of the main endemic foci of leishmaniasis and has various clinical manifestations of the disease (Figure 1) [4]. The most common form is related to cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL).…”