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The adaptive roles of aneuploidy and polyclonality in Leishmania in response to environmental stress KU Leuven Institute of Tropical Medicine University of Antwerp
Aneuploidy is generally considered harmful, but in some microorganisms, it can act as an adaptive mechanism against environmental stress. Here, we use Leishmania-a protozoan parasite with remarkable genome plasticity-to study the early steps of aneuploidy evolution under high drug pressure (using antimony or miltefosine as stressors). By combining single-cell genomics, lineage tracing with cellular barcodes, and longitudinal genome ...
Genome diversity of Leishmania aethiopica KU Leuven University of Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine
Leishmania aethiopica is a zoonotic Old World parasite transmitted by Phlebotomine sand flies and causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ethiopia and Kenya. Despite a range of clinical manifestations and a high prevalence of treatment failure, L. aethiopica is one of the most neglected species of the Leishmania genus in terms of scientific attention. Here, we explored the genome diversity of L. aethiopica by analyzing the genomes of twenty isolates ...
Deep kinetoplast genome analyses result in a novel molecular assay for detecting Trypanosoma brucei gambiense-specific minicircles KU Leuven Institute of Tropical Medicine
The World Health Organization targeted Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (Tbg) human African trypanosomiasis for elimination of transmission by 2030. Sensitive molecular markers that specifically detect Tbg type 1 (Tbg1) parasites will be important tools to assist in reaching this goal. We aim at improving molecular diagnosis of Tbg1 infections by targeting the abundant mitochondrial minicircles within the kinetoplast of these parasites. Using ...
Molecular Analysis of Trypanosome Infections in Algerian Camels KU Leuven Institute of Tropical Medicine
PURPOSE: Surra is an economically important livestock disease in many low- and middle-income countries, including those of Northern Africa. The disease is caused by the biting fly-transmitted subspecies Trypanosoma brucei evansi, which is very closely related to the tsetse-transmitted subspecies T. b. brucei and the sexually transmitted subspecies T. b. equiperdum. At least two phylogenetically distinct groups of T. b. evansi can be ...
Evolutionary potential of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni in a changing world KU Leuven
The human helminth parasite Schistosoma spp. lives in the blood vessels of over 200 million people in Africa, Asia and South-America. The most serious infections are found in children and adolescents who eventually become physically and intellectually compromised, while people who have been infected chronically may develop liver damage, kidney failure or bladder cancer. Despite the availability of a cheap and effective drug, the disease has been ...
Drug resistance in vectorborne parasites: multiple actors and scenarios for an evolutionary arms race KU Leuven University of Antwerp
Drug-resistant pathogens emerge faster than new drugs come out of drug discovery pipelines. Current and future drug options should therefore be better protected, requiring a clear understanding of the factors that contribute to the natural history of drug resistance. Although many of these factors are relatively well understood for most bacteria, this proves to be more complex for vectorborne parasites. In this review, we discuss considering ...
Micro-Geographical Heterogeneity in Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium Infection and Morbidity in a Co-Endemic Community in Northern Senegal KU Leuven Ghent University
BACKGROUND: Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium are co-endemic in many areas in Africa. Yet, little is known about the micro-geographical distribution of these two infections or associated disease within such foci. Such knowledge could give important insights into the drivers of infection and disease and as such better tailor schistosomiasis control and elimination efforts. METHODOLOGY: In a co-endemic farming community in northern Senegal ...
Regular treatments of praziquantel do not impact on the genetic make-up of Schistosoma mansoni in Northern Senegal KU Leuven
The Senegal River Basin (SRB) experienced a major epidemic of intestinal schistosomiasis in the early nineties, after the construction of a dam for irrigation purposes. Exceptionally low cure rates following praziquantel (PZQ) treatment at the onset of the epidemic raised concerns about PZQ resistant strains of Schistosoma mansoni, although they could also be attributed to the intense transmission at that time. A field study in the same region ...
Hybridisation between the two major African schistosome species of humans KU Leuven
It is generally accepted that Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium, causing intestinal and urinary schistosomiasis, respectively, are not able to hybridise, due to the high phylogenetic distance between them. Cloning of nuclear internal transcribed spacer rDNA and partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 fragments revealed two internal transcribed spacer rDNA genotypes within single eggs and miracidia, one identical to S. mansoni ...