Geographic Distribution of Leishmania Species in Ecuador Based on the Cytochrome B Gene Sequence Analysis

Hirotomo Kato; Eduardo A Gomez; Luiggi Martini-Robles; Jenny Muzzio; Lenin Velez; Manuel Calvopiña; Daniel Romero-Alvarez; Tatsuyuki Mimori; Hiroshi Uezato; Yoshihisa Hashiguchi

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004844

Geographic Distribution of Leishmania Species in Ecuador Based on the Cytochrome B Gene Sequence Analysis

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Jul 13;10(7):e0004844. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004844. eCollection 2016 Jul.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Medical Zoology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
² Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
³ Departamento de Parasitologia y Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
⁴ Departamento de Parasitologia, Insitituto de Investigacion de Salud Publica, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
⁵ Centro de Biomedicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
⁶ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
⁷ Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.

Abstract

A countrywide epidemiological study was performed to elucidate the current geographic distribution of causative species of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Ecuador by using FTA card-spotted samples and smear slides as DNA sources. Putative Leishmania in 165 samples collected from patients with CL in 16 provinces of Ecuador were examined at the species level based on the cytochrome b gene sequence analysis. Of these, 125 samples were successfully identified as Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis, L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (V.) naiffi, L. (V.) lainsoni, and L. (Leishmania) mexicana. Two dominant species, L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis, were widely distributed in Pacific coast subtropical and Amazonian tropical areas, respectively. Recently reported L. (V.) naiffi and L. (V.) lainsoni were identified in Amazonian areas, and L. (L.) mexicana was identified in an Andean highland area. Importantly, the present study demonstrated that cases of L. (V.) braziliensis infection are increasing in Pacific coast areas.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cytochromes b*
Ecuador
Gene Expression Regulation
Humans
Leishmania / genetics*
Leishmaniasis / epidemiology*
Leishmaniasis / parasitology*
Phylogeny

Substances

Cytochromes b

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan (Grant Nos. 23256002 and 25257501). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.