Genome wide comparison of Leishmania donovani strains from Indian visceral leishmaniasis and para-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis patients

Leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania genus of parasites, is a major health concern in tropical countries. The disease ranges from self-healing cutaneous lesions to potentially lethal visceral form, commonly known as Kala-azar. 90% of all visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, caused by Leishmania donovani, occur in India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Iran, Nepal, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The treatment is becoming a real problem with growing resistance by the parasites against the available drugs. Moreover, 10 to 20% of the apparently cured VL patients in India and 50-60% of that in Sudan develop Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL). Leishmania parasites can re-shape their genome rapidly in response to changing environmental conditions and drug pressure. In this context, the whole genome sequences of L. donovani clinical isolates (n=10) from VL and PKDL patients from India have been determined to elucidate the contribution of genomic variation on growing drug resistance and incidences of PKDL.