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Diversity and dissemination of viruses in pathogenic protozoa
Author(s)
University of Antwerp
Ilse Maes
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Mandy Sanders
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Lon‐Fye Lye
Washington University in St. Louis
Vanessa Adaui
Peruvian University of Applied Sciences
Jorge Arévalo
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Alejandro Llanos‐Cuentas
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Lineth García
Universidad Mayor de San Simón
Philippe Lemey
Rega Institute for Medical Research
Stephen M. Beverley
Washington University in St. Louis
James A. Cotton
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Jean‐Claude Dujardin
University of Antwerp
Frederik Van den Broeck
Rega Institute for Medical Research
Date Issued
15 de diciembre de 2023
Type
Article
Volume
14
Issue
1
Series/Report No.
Nature Communications
Start Page
8343
End Page
8343
ISSN
2041-1723
Abstract
Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and play a significant role in the evolution of many organisms and ecosystems. In pathogenic protozoa, the presence of viruses has been linked to an increased risk of treatment failure and severe clinical outcome. Here, we studied the molecular epidemiology of the zoonotic disease cutaneous leishmaniasis in Peru and Bolivia through a joint evolutionary analysis of Leishmania braziliensis and their dsRNA Leishmania virus 1. We show that parasite populations circulate in tropical rainforests and are associated with single viral lineages that appear in low prevalence. In contrast, groups of hybrid parasites are geographically and ecologically more dispersed and associated with an increased prevalence, diversity and spread of viruses. Our results suggest that parasite gene flow and hybridization increased the frequency of parasite-virus symbioses, a process that may change the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in the region.
Keywords