[Leish-l] Confirm hits to Leishmania spp. in whole blood of mammals in the US?

[joaquina]

Dear Katherine,
Your approach is wrong. Leishmania DNA can be amplified by PCR and 
directly sequenced from host or vector biological samples. However, you 
must carefully choose a convenient PCR technique as not every of them 
give the same results. Also, you should take into account the presence 
of other trypanosomatid species apart from Leishmania, both in vector 
and in the reservoir and it is necessary to differentiate them properly. 
L. infantum is endemic in southwestern Europe but it is becoming clear 
that the classic epidemiological cycle dog-sandfly-human is turning into 
a network of animal species that collaborate with the dog in the 
maintenance of the parasite under natural conditions. Our research in 
southeastern Spain involved as reservoir, apart from the dog, the wild 
rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (please find attached the paper about 
it). Our studies also support the importance of rodents such as Rattus 
rattus, Apodemus sylvaticus and Mus musculus in the life cycle of L. 
infantum (article in revision in Parasitology Research)
Joaquina Martin-Sanchez
Dpto Parasitologia
Fac Farmacia
Granada University
Granada, Spain

El 2015-03-06 00:30, Sayler,Katherine A escribió:
> Dear readers,
>
> Thank you sincerely for your time. I am a tick-borne disease 
> biologist
> by trade, so this is outside of my realm.
>
> I am trying to confirm some preliminary data that suggests the
> _Leishmania_ spp. are circulating in limited geographic locales in
> southern Florida. Is it at all reasonable to expect to detect the DNA
> of the trypanosomatids in the blood of infected wildlife? My 
> suspicion
> is that this is completely improbable, as it appears that in order to
> detect DNA in enough quantity or quality for sequencing, you need
> cultured organisms. From sandflies it appears that it is possible to
> PCR amplify and sequence directly from the vector, but never from the
> reservoir (or potential reservoir) host. Is this true? Any advice or
> insight would be greatly appreciated and I am tremendously naïve and
> this is clearly not my area of expertise.
>
> Thank you again for reading my message,
>
> Katherine
>
> Katherine Sayler, M.Ed., Ph.D.
> Postdoctoral Associate | Department of Wildlife Ecology and
> Conservation
> Molecular Ecology Laboratory | 2322 Mowry Rd. Gainesville, FL 32611
> Phone: 352-871-3259
>
> --
>  _ This email was sent by icb.usp.br _ ­­
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