Minor structural variation and complex clonal genomic structure in Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis

L. panamensis is one of the most important Leishmania species associated to Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) in Latin America, with clinical and epidemiological importance, especially in Colombia. Despite its wide geographic distribution and its pathogenic potential in humans and animals, this specie has showed lower genetic diversity than other Leishmania species that circulate in the same geographical area (L. braziliensis). Despite the data obtained, until now no study has analyzed in detail the whole genome, from Colombian clinical isolates (through DNA high-throughput sequencing) with the propose to evaluate the genomic diversity intra-species of strains of L. panamensis circulating in Colombia. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the intra-specific genomic variability of L. panamensis from Colombian CL patients. A total of 19 samples of patients with CL were cultivated. The DNA of each culture was extracted and analyzed through DNA-seq technology. The whole genome analysis of 19 clinical L. panamensis isolates allowed us to identify a low structural variation in terms of Somy, CNVs and SNPs. Additionally, we observed SNPs shared between the clinical isolates revealing the importance of them in the different biological process of the parasite. The results obtained allowed not only to expand the knowledge about the intra-specific genomic variability in one of most important Leishmania species in South America, but also to suggest that the low structural variability, could be associated as possible event of adaptation of L. panamensis to vertebrate host and vectors responsible for the maintenance of the transmission of CL in South-America.