Pathogens, Vol. 15, Pages 124: Resequencing and De Novo Assembly of Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis from Amazon Region: Genome Assessment, Phylogenetic Insights and Therapeutic Targets

Pathogens doi: 10.3390/pathogens15010124

Authors:
Lucas George Assunção Costa
Edivaldo Costa Sousa Junior
Camila Cristina Cardoso
Millena Arnaud Franco da Igreja
Franklyn Samudio Acosta
Fabiano Reis da Silva
Lourdes Maria Garcez

Leishmania guyanensis is one of 15 American human-pathogenic species, frequently linked to therapeutic failure due to its marked genetic plasticity and adaptability under drug pressure. To broaden the genomic understanding of this species, its biological traits, and potential therapeutic alternatives, we sequenced the L. guyanensis strain MHOM/BR/75/M4147. Raw reads underwent quality-filtering and assembly. Taxonomic classification utilized BLASTn and Kraken2, confirming that 99.95% of contigs matched Leishmania. The assembled genome size was 31 Mb, with an N50 of 4743 bp and 40.85× coverage. Variant calling subsequently identified 36,665 SNPs, 8210 indels, and chromosomal aneuploidies. Genomic annotation identified 3119 proteins with known molecular functions in L. guyanensis, alongside 6371 orthologous genes shared with L. major and L. panamensis. The search for pharmacological relevance yielded ten candidate genes, including one calpain and nine GSK3 family members. Phylogenetic reconstruction using the polA1 gene consistently grouped L. guyanensis, demonstrating strong discriminatory capacity, with L. martiniquensis emerging as the most divergent species. Overall, these findings expand the available genomic framework for L. guyanensis and support advances in species-specific diagnostic approaches.

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Lucas George Assunção Costa www.mdpi.com