Leishmaniasis: Omics Approaches to Understand its Biology from Molecule to Cell Level

Leishmaniasis is the second deadliest vector-borne, neglected tropical zoonotic disease and is found in a variety of clinical forms based on genetic background. Its endemic type is present in tropical, sub-tropical and Mediterranean areas around the world which accounts for a lot of deaths every year. Currently, a variety of techniques are available for detection of leishmaniasis each technique having it's own pros and cons. The advancing next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques are employed to find out novel diagnostic markers based on single nucleotide variants. A total of 274 NGS studies are available in European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) portal () that focused on wild-type and mutated Leishmania, differential gene expression, miRNA expression, and detection of aneuploidy mosaicism by omics approaches. These studies have provided insights into the population structure, virulence, and extensive structural variation, including known and suspected drug resistance loci, mosaic aneuploidy and hybrid formation under stressed conditions and inside the midgut of the sandfly. The complex interactions occurring within the parasite-host-vector triangle can be better understood by omics approaches. Further, advanced CRISPR technology allows researchers to delete and modify each gene individually to know the importance of genes in the virulence and survival of the disease-causing protozoa. In vitro generation of Leishmania hybrids are helping to understand the mechanism of disease progression in its different stages of infection. This review will give a comprehensive picture of the available omics data of various Leishmania spp. which helped to reveal the effect of climate change on the spread of its vector, the pathogen survival strategies, emerging antimicrobial resistance and its clinical importance.

Automated summary

Leishmaniasis is a deadly tropical disease found in different clinical forms. Various techniques, including next-generation sequencing, have been used to detect and study the disease. These studies have provided valuable insights into the population structure, virulence, and drug resistance of Leishmania. Advanced CRISPR technology has also been employed to understand the role of individual genes in the disease.