Protozoan parasites of the Leishmania donovani complex – L. donovani and L. infantum – cause the fatal disease visceral leishmaniasis. We present the first comprehensive genome-wide global study, with 151 cultured field isolates representing most of the geographical distribution. L. donovani isolates separated into five groups that largely coincide with geographical origin but vary greatly in diversity. In contrast, the majority of L. infantum samples fell into one globally-distributed group with little diversity. This picture is complicated by several hybrid lineages. Identified genetic groups vary in heterozygosity and levels of linkage, suggesting different recombination histories. We characterise chromosome-specific patterns of aneuploidy and identified extensive structural variation, including known and suspected drug resistance loci. This study reveals greater genetic diversity than suggested by geographically-focused studies, provides a resource of genomic variation for future work and sets the scene for a new understanding of the evolution and genetics of the Leishmania donovani complex.

中文翻译：

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利什曼原虫多诺万尼复合体的全球基因组多样性

利什曼原虫donovani复合体的原生动物寄生虫– donovani和L. infantum –引起致命的内脏利什曼病。我们提出了第一个全面的全基因组全球研究，其中151个培养的野外分离株代表了大多数地理分布。L. donovani分离株分为五个组，与地理起源在很大程度上重合，但多样性差异很大。相反，大多数婴儿乳杆菌样本分为几类，分布在全球各地，几乎没有差异。这张图片由于有几个混合血统而变得复杂。鉴定出的基因组杂合度和连接水平各不相同，这提示了不同的重组历史。我们表征非整倍性的染色体特定模式，并确定广泛的结构变异，包括已知和可疑的耐药性位点。这项研究揭示了比以地理为重点的研究所建议的更大的遗传多样性，为将来的工作提供了基因组变异的资源，并为对利什曼原虫多诺万尼复合体的进化和遗传学有了新的认识。