Mini-Exon Genotyping of Leishmania Species in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran

BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease cause by Leishmania genus. Anthroponotic and zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis are endemic in Iran. The aim of this study was to identify the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis by mini-exon gene in five regions of Khuzestan Province, southwest of Iran. METHODS: From 2007 to 2008 in this cross-sectional study, cutaneous samples were collected from patients referred to Health Centers and Hospitals of the Khuzestan Province for cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosis and cultured in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) and RPMI 1640. The propagated promastigotes were harvested and Leishmania species of cutaneous leishmaniasis were identified by RFLP and DNA sequencing of the PCR generated fragments. RESULTS: L. major and L. tropica were the causative agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis by predominantly of L. major species. The alignment of the mini-exon sequencing isolates with reported sequencing of L. major and L. tropica revealed 92%-99% identity. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that mini-exon PCR-RFLP was useful method to identify the causative species of cutaneous leishmaniasis.