期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1982
卷号：79
期号：22
页码：6999-7003
DOI：10.1073/pnas.79.22.6999
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) was isolated from various species of the protozoic parasite Leishmania and analyzed by nucleic acid hybridization to detect species-related heterogeneity of kDNA. Purified DNA isolated from L. mexicana and L. braziliensis displayed no homology in nucleic acid hybridization studies. These results confirmed that rapid kDNA sequence change and evolution is occurring in New World species of Leishmania and suggested that such isolated kDNA could be used as a specific hybridization probe for the rapid identification of Leishmania species by using whole organisms. This work further demonstrates that such species-specific identification is feasible on isolated Leishmania promastigotes and, more important, directly on tissue touch blots derived from the cutaneous lesion. Thus, specific hybridization of isolated kDNA provides the basis for a rapid, accurate method for the diagnosis of human leishmaniasis directly from infected tissue.
