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The Leishmania hertigi (Kinetoplastida; Trypanosomatidae) Complex and the Lizard Leishmania: Their Classification and Evidence for a Neotropical Origin of the Leishmania-Endotrypanum Clade |
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| Authors: | HARRY A NOYES BYRON A ARANA MICHAEL L CHANCE RHAIZA MAINGON |
| Institution: | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK;Centro de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad del Valle, Guatemala;Centre for Applied Entomolgy and Parasitology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT. The relationships of the Leishmania hertigi complex and the lizard Leishmania species to the main groups of mammalian Leishmania and Endotrypanum parasites were examined. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms and sequences of small subunit ribosomal RNA genes and hybridization studies of kinetoplast DNA indicated that the L. hertigi complex was more closely related to the genus Endotrypanum than to the genus Leishmania . The lizard Leishmania species were found to be at the crown of the Leishmania tree. The data provides strong evidence for a Neotropical origin of the Endotrypanum/Leishmania clade since the parasites closest to the root of the tree are all found exclusively in the Neotropics. The evolution of the Leishmania/Endotrypanum clade in relation to the evolution of the known hosts of these parasites is discussed. |
| Keywords: | Biogeography Bradypodiade Coendu Cricetidae evolution Hystricomorpha sloth Trypanosoma cruzi |