Polymerase chain reaction-based assay for the detection and identification of sand fly gregarines in Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of visceral leishmaniasis

• Autores: Caligiuri, Lorena G; Acardi, Soraya Alejandra; Santini, María Soledad; Salomón, Oscar Daniel; McCarthy, Christina B.
• Año de publicación: 2014
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Journal of Vector Ecology 2014;39(1):83-93
• Materia: Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa; Leishmaniasis Visceral; Parásitos
• Institución: Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"

Fil: Caligiuri, Lorena G. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos; Argentina.
Fil: Acardi, Soraya A. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Aplicada; Argentina.
Fil: Santini, María Soledad. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Endemo-Epidemias; Argentina.
Fil: Salomón, Oscar D. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; Argentina.
Fil: McCarthy, Christina B. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos; Argentina.
Gregarines that parasitise phlebotomine sand flies belong to the genus Psychodiella and, even though they are highly host-specific, only five species have been described to date. Their most outstanding features include the unique localisation of the oocysts in the accessory glands of the female host, which ensures contamination of the egg surface during oviposition, and the fact that they naturally parasitise the vectors of Leishmania, causal agent of leishmaniasis. The type species, Ps. chagasi, was first described in Lutzomyia longipalpis, vector of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), from Brazil. We recently reported Ps. chagasi sequences in Lu. longipalpis from Posadas (Misiones, Argentina), an endemic VL location where this gregarine had not been previously recorded. In order to analyse the incidence of Ps. chagasi infections in Lu. longipalpis from this location, the aim of this study was to develop a diagnostic assay for sand fly gregarine parasites in Lu. longipalpis. For this, we designed primers using the Ps. chagasi sequences we previously identified and performed an in vitro validation by PCR amplification of the original sand fly samples. Their specificity and sensitivity as diagnostic primers were subsequently confirmed by PCR reactions using total DNA extracted from naturally infected Lu. longipalpis from the same location (Posadas, Argentina).