Genetic diversity of human zoonotic leishmaniasis in Iberian Peninsula

Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum is a zoonotic disease endemic in South Europe, from Portugal to the Middle East. The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic diversity of L. infantum parasites in Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-four L. infantum strains isolated from immunocompetent patients with leishmaniasis from several localities of Portugal and Spain were studied. The use of kinetoplast DNA-PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism as a molecular marker revealed intra-specific variation. No association was found between genotype and clinical form of the disease or patients age group. Two main clusters were identified with this marker: (i) zymodeme MON-1 strains and (ii) non-MON-1 strains. However, no association was found between strains variability and geographical distribution suggesting that parasite populations of different regions in the Iberian Peninsula are homogenous.