The complete coding region of the maxicircle as a superior phylogenetic marker for exploring evolutionary relationships between members of the Leishmaniinae.

The complete coding region of the maxicircle as a superior phylogenetic marker for exploring evolutionary relationships between members of the Leishmaniinae. Infect Genet Evol. 2019 Feb 06;: Authors: Kaufer A, Barratt J, Stark D, Ellis J Abstract The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a potentially valuable phylogenetic marker given its presence across all eukaryotic taxa and its relative conservation in structure and sequence. In trypanosomatids, a homologue of the mtDNA referred to as the maxicircle DNA, is located within a specialised structure in the single mitochondrion of the trypanosomatids called the kinetoplast; a high molecular weight network of DNA composed of thousands of catenated minicircles and a smaller number of larger maxicircles. Unique to the kinetoplastid protists, the maxicircle component of this complex network could represent a desirable target for taxonomic inquiry that may also facilitate exploration of the evolutionary history of this important group of parasites. The aim of this study was to investigate the phylogenetic value of the trypanosomatid maxicircle for these applications. Maxicircle sequences were obtained either by assembling raw sequence data publicly accessible in online databases (i.e., NCBI), or by amplification of novel maxicircle sequences from trypanosomatid DNA using long-range (LR) PCR with subsequent Illumina sequencing. This procedure facilitated the generation of nearly complete maxicircle...
Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Infect Genet Evol Source Type: research