{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,31]],"date-time":"2026-10-31T12:56:05Z","timestamp":1793451365084,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776384000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"HHS | NIH","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["AI001018-19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AI001018-19"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001824","name":"Grant Agency of the Czech Republic","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["23-06479X"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23-06479X"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001824","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Genetic hybridization within the genus\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Leishmania<\/jats:italic>\n                    has been demonstrated experimentally, but the extent to which this occurs naturally among circulating populations remains enigmatic. The current consensus is that natural populations undergo preponderant clonal evolution, presumably expanding by asexual replication. To investigate the extent to which inter- and intraspecific genetic exchange has impacted\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Leishmania<\/jats:italic>\n                    population genetics, a pan-genus multilocus typing method composed of 27 linked and unlinked genetic markers under purifying, neutral, or positive selection was developed and applied against 254\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Leishmania<\/jats:italic>\n                    isolates assigned to 11 species, the majority (n = 142) of which had been previously speciated using isoenzyme or DNA sequence typing methodologies. Phylogenetic trees and network analyses identified high levels of heterozygosity and allelic diversity across diverse geographic regions, challenging conventional species designations. Notably, approximately 72% of isolates displayed genetic hybridization, both inter- and intraspecific, resulting in hybrids possessing heterozygous sequence blocks from distinct parental ancestries. Whole-genome sequencing analyses performed on 24 isolates validated the hybridization findings. These results underscore a higher degree of outbreeding within the \u201cOld World\u201d\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Leishmania<\/jats:italic>\n                    populations than previously envisaged. Understanding the genetic dynamics and role of hybridization within the population genetics of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Leishmania<\/jats:italic>\n                    will provide crucial insight for the design of targeted interventions that mitigate the spread of the debilitating tropical diseases caused by these parasites.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2537999123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T15:47:18Z","timestamp":1776440838000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Extensive heterozygosity and genetic exchange among natural populations of\n                    <i>Leishmania<\/i>\n                    species"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"given":"Eliza V. C.","family":"Alves-Ferreira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Parasitology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mourad","family":"Barhoumi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Parasitology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda"]},{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Experimental Pathology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, and University of Tunis El Manar","place":["Tunis, Tunisia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4894-1515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago R.","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intracellular Parasite Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1254-0608","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthew W.","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University","place":["Starkville"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Petr","family":"Volf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University","place":["Prague, Czechia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yusr","family":"Saadi-BenAoun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Experimental Pathology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, and University of Tunis El Manar","place":["Tunis, Tunisia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Immen","family":"Khammari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse","place":["Sousse, Tunisia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ihcen","family":"Kherachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur d\u2019Alg\u00e9rie","place":["Algiers 16047, Algeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Akila","family":"Fathallah Mili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse","place":["Sousse, Tunisia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zoubir","family":"Harrat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur d\u2019Alg\u00e9rie","place":["Algiers 16047, Algeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ikram","family":"Guizani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Experimental Pathology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, and University of Tunis El Manar","place":["Tunis, Tunisia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7557-3124","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David L.","family":"Sacks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intracellular Parasite Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0578-6618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julius","family":"Luke\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences","place":["\u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice, Czechia"]},{"name":"Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia","place":["\u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice, Czechia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael E.","family":"Grigg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Parasitology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cimid.2004.03.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0035671"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.02851"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1590\/S0074-02762007000500001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization Leishmaniasis (2023). https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/leishmaniasis. 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