Genetic basis of Sri Lankan L. donovani clinical isolates from patients with different disease phenotypes. Leishmania donovani

Leishmaniasis is a complex tropical disease often neglected which spread across 98 countries including Sri Lanka. The disease manifest in one of its many forms; localized cutaneous, mucocutaneous to deadly visceral leishmaniasis. Nearly 21 species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania are responsible for these diseases. Leishmania donovani causes potentially fatal visceral leishmaniasis in endemic parts of Asia and Africa. In Sri Lanka, L. donovani is responsible for largely cutaneous and only for a few visceral cases. We describe the comparison of genomes of eight L. donovani clinical isolates which included 6 cutaneous and 2 visceral isolates, to identify genetic factors possibly underlying these different disease tropisms and treatment response patterns.