Phylogenetic-based study on Leishmania and Crithidia isolated from human cutaneous leishmaniasis in Fars province, southern Iran during 2016 to 2017

Background: Leishmania major and L. tropica, are the main pathogens of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) in different regions of Iran.Objectives: The aim of this study was detection of Leishmania and Crithidia species in humans suspected to CL in two endemic foci in Fars province, southern Iran.Materials and Methods: Totally, 276 out of 350 suspected cases of CL were checked by different diagnostic methods of microscopy, culture, and PCR. In PCR assay, four different genes were performed including minicircle kDNA, and Cysteine Protease B genes for Leishmania detection, and Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase, and Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 genes for Crithidia detection. In continue, some random samples were sequenced and analyzed by phylogenetic tree.Results: Totally, 68% and 65.3% of patients were confirmed as positive by microscopy and culture. In PCR, L. major and L. tropica were detected in 86.2% and 13.1% of CL patients, respectively. In addition, Crithidia sp. was detected in two of CL patients who chronically infected with L. major. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicated that isolated L. major and L. tropica strains were more similar to other Iranian isolates from Fars and Khuzestan provinces. Moreover, isolated Crithidia sp. was more similar to African strains of C. fasciculata.Conclusion: It seems that the epidemiological pattern of CL has changed during the last decades in Iran. However, the information of the current study would help better controlling of leishmaniases in other similar areas of the country

کلیدواژه ها:

Leishmaniasis ، Leishmania ، Crithidia ، PCR ، Phylogenetic tree ، Iran