Differentiation of Leishmania mexicana Using Sequential qPCR Assays and High-Resolution Melt Analysis

Leishmania protozoa are the etiological agents of visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. In specific geographical regions, such as Latin America, several Leishmania species are endemic and simultaneously present; therefore, a diagnostic method for species discrimination is warranted. I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms (Basel) 2020-06, Vol.8 (6)
Main Authors: Ceccarelli, Marcello, Diotallevi, Aurora, Buffi, Gloria, De Santi, Mauro, Fernandez-Figueroa, Edith A, Rangel-Escareno, Claudia, Munoz-Montero, Said A, Becker, Ingeborg, Magnani, Mauro, Galluzzi, Luca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Identification and classification
Leishmania
Observations
Polymerase chain reaction
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Summary:Leishmania protozoa are the etiological agents of visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. In specific geographical regions, such as Latin America, several Leishmania species are endemic and simultaneously present; therefore, a diagnostic method for species discrimination is warranted. In this attempt, many qPCR-based assays have been developed. Recently, we have shown that L. (L.) infantum and L. (L.) amazonensis can be distinguished through the comparison of the Cq values from two qPCR assays (qPCR-ML and qPCR-ama), designed to amplify kDNA minicircle subclasses more represented in L. (L.) infantum and L. (L.) amazonensis, respectively. This paper describes the application of this approach to L. (L.) mexicana and introduces a new qPCR-ITS1 assay followed by high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis to differentiate this species from L. (L.) amazonensis. We show that L. (L.) mexicana can be distinguished from L. (L.) infantum using the same approach we 0had previously validated/or L. (L.) amazonensis. Moreover, it was also possible to reliably discriminate L. (L.) mexicana from L. (L.) amazonensis by using qPCR-ITS1 followed by an HRM analysis. Therefore, a diagnostic algorithm based on sequential qPCR assays coupled with HRM analysis was established to identify/differentiate L. (L.) infantum, L. (L.) amazonensis, L. (L.) mexicana and Viannia subgenus. These findings update and extend previous data published by our research group, providing an additional diagnostic tool in endemic areas with co-existing species.
ISSN:2076-2607
2076-2607
DOI:10.3390/microorganisms8060818