Rapid identification of Leishmania species by specific hybridization of kinetoplast DNA in cutaneous lesions.

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Abstract
Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) was isolated from various species of the protozoan 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. Rapid kDNA sequence change and evolution is evidently occurring in New World species of Leishmania. Isolated kDNA could be used as a specific hybridization probe for the rapid identification of Leishmania spp. by using whole organisms. 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.