Genome Analysis of Triploid Hybrid Leishmania Parasite from the Neotropics

Abstract

We discovered a hybrid Leishmania parasite in Costa Rica that is genetically similar to hybrids from Panama. Genome analyses demonstrated the hybrid is triploid and identified L. braziliensis and L. guyanensis–related strains as parents. Our findings highlight the existence of poorly sampled Leishmania (Viannia) variants infectious to humans.

Publication
In Emerging Infectious Diseases 29(5):1076-1078