full issue - Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy

Current Trends in Biotechnology and PharmacyVol. 5 (2) 1183-1192 April 2011. ISSN 0973-8916 (Print), 2230-7303 (Online)1190restriction sites and/or changes in the size of therestriction fragments due to insertions, deletionsor other rearrangements at the original sequence.It has been shown that rearrangements ofrepeated sequences are a common processleading to protozoan genome variability (27, 28).It is possible that the inherently variable nature ofrepetitive sequences accounts for an importantpart of the observed AFLP polymorphisms. Thatmight be especially possible for L. panamensis,a not very well studied member of the subgenusViannia. Full genome sequencing of anothermember of the subgenus, L. braziliensis, hasshown higher amino acid and sequencedivergence as well as a higher number of repetitivesequences than that of the other sequencedmembers of the Leishmania subgenus, L. majorand L. infantum (29).ConclusionsWhen AFLP low selectivity EcoRI and MseIprimers were used (+0, +1 and +2) onLeishmania panamensis, the patterns obtainedrevealed large numbers of usable alleles and asignificant proportion of polymorphic bands.Additionally, many of those bands showed thepotential to distinguish between L. panamensisand L. guyanensis. Thus, AFLP is a molecularfingerprinting technique showing promisingpotential to explore genetic diversity atLeishmania panamensis, both at intraspecific andinterspecific levels. Its application will allowresearchers to look deeper into newpolymorphisms and possibly correlate them to ecoepidemiologicallyrelevant traits and otherimportant aspects of the biology of the parasite.The high efficiency of AFLP to detect manypolymorphisms simultaneously in this parasitemakes the technique very attractive to addressepidemiological relevant issues as drug resistance,variations in clinical symptoms, and microevolutionarypatterns, among many others.AcknowledgementsAuthors are very grateful to Dr. PatriciaLlanes for strains supply and Mrs. Laura Pinedafor technical assistance on parasite cultures. Thisstudy was funded by the National Secretary ofScience, Technology and Innovation of Panama(SENACYT), grant No. FID08-104.References1. Desjeux, P. (2004). Leishmaniasis: currentsituation and new perspectives. CompImmunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 27: 305–318.2. Reithinger, R., Dujardin, J.C., Louzir, H.,Pirmez, C., Alexander, B., Brooker, S.(2007). Cutaneous leishmaniasis. LancetInfect Dis, 7: 581–596.3. Vásquez, A., Paz, H., Alvar, J., Perez, D.and Hernandez, C. (1998). Informe Final:Estudios Sobre la Epidemiología de laLeishmaniasis en la parte Occidental de laRepública de Panamá. InstitutoConmemorativo Gorgas de Estudio de laSalud, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Panamá.4. Christensen, H.A., Herrer, A. and Telford,S.R. Jr (1972). Enzootic cutaneousleishmaniasis in eastern Panama. II.Entomological investigations. Ann Trop MedParasitol, 66: 55–66.5. Christensen, H.A., Fairchild, G.B., Herrer,A., Johnson, C.M., Young, D.G. and deVásquez, A.M. (1983). The ecology ofcutaneous leishmaniasis in the Republic ofPanama. J Med Entomol, 20: 463–484.6. Christensen, H.A., de Vasquez, A.M. andPetersen, J.L. (1999). Short report:epidemiologic studies on cutaneousleishmaniasis in eastern Panama. Am J TropMed Hyg, 60: 54–57.Carlos M. Restrepo et al