Novel identification of differences in the kinetoplast DNA of Leishmania isolates by recombinant DNA techniques and in situ hybridisation.

Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) was extracted from marker isolates of three 'Old World' cutaneous leishmania, L. tropica, L. aethiopica and L. major. Restriction endonuclease digestion followed by electrophoresis showed that each isolate produced a unique pattern of DNA fragments. The kDNA of each isolate was hybridised to Southern blots of digests of all three kDNAs. This showed that the kDNA of each isolate contained sequences unique to that isolate as well as sequences common to all three isolates. The kDNA sequences of L. tropica and L. aethiopica were more closely related than either were to those of L. major. kDNA of each isolate was cloned and plasmids selected which contained a fragment of DNA unique to the isolate from which the kDNA originated. Whole kDNA was hybridised to organisms fixed on a microscope slide. In each case the kDNA hybridised strongly to the kinetoplast of the organism from which the DNA had been extracted. There was a small amount of cross-hybridisation between L. tropica and L. aethiopica confirming the result of the Southern blot hybridisation. The feasibility of a method of isolate identification using recombinant DNA probes containing sequences unique to a particular isolate or group of isolates is discussed.