Nucleic Acids Research, 1995, Vol. 23, No. 12 2300-2304
© 1995
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY |
Phylogenetic analysis of Leishmania RNA virus and Leishmania suggests ancient virus-parasite association
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Comparative Medicine, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine North Grafton, MA 01536, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed
Received January 17, 1995. Revised April 27, 1995. Accepted April 27, 1995.
Some strains of the protozoan parasite Leishmania belonging to the new world species guyanensls and braztllensls are infected with persistent, single-segmented, non-enveloped dsRNA viruses termed LRV1. A single old world strain classified as L.major was recently found to harbor a similar virus, designated LRV2-1. The genomlc nucleotide sequences of two LRV1 types (1-1 and 1-4) isolated from two Lguyanensls strains have been determined and found to be highly conserved. In contrast, LRV1 -specific cDNA probes derived from the conserved genomic 5' region failed to recognize LRV2 RNA on Northern blots, suggesting a greater degree of divergence between LRV1 and LRV2 than among LRV1 types. This observation suggests a long-term association and co-evolution of LRV within each parasite strain. We tested this concept by comparing nucleotide sequences of seven LRV types and PCR fingerprints of the parasite strains from which these viruses were derived. In support of the Idea of virus-parasite co-evolution, we find that genetic distances between LRV types mirror the heterogeneity between parasite fingerprints and are clustered according to the geographical origin of the strains. In agreement with the postulated common origin of persistent dsRNA viruses of protozoa and fungi, we conclude that the Infection of Leishmania with LRV pre-dates the divergence of Leishmania into different lineages.
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