Leishmania major
| Leishmania major | |
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| Promastigotes of Leishmania major, 10×100, Giemsa stain. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| (unranked): | Excavata |
| Phylum: | Euglenozoa |
| Class: | Kinetoplastida |
| Order: | Trypanosomatida |
| Genus: | Leishmania |
| Species: | L. major |
| Binomial name | |
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Leishmania major |
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Leishmania major is a species of parasites found in the genus Leishmania, and is associated with the disease zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (also known as Aleppo boil, Baghdad boil, Bay sore, Biskra button, Chiclero ulcer, Delhi boil, Kandahar sore, Lahore sore, Oriental sore, Pian bois, and Uta).L. major is an intracellular pathogen which infects the macrophages and dendritic cells of the immune system. Though Leishmania species are found on every continent aside from Antarctica, Leishmania major is found only in the Eastern Hemisphere, specifically in Northern Africa, the Middle East, Northwestern China, and Northwestern India.
As a trypanosomatid, L. major begins its lifecycle in promastigote form in the midgut of the main vector, female sand flies (Phlebotomus spp.). Once in the gut of the sand fly, the parasites change from aflagelated amastigotes into
flagellated promastigotes for 1–2 weeks until they are fully developed, a which point they make their way to the proboscis. Upon biting a mammalian host, promastigotes are released into the bloodstream, where they are engulfed by macrophages. Following engulfment, promastigotes differentiate into amastigotes.Amastigotes are oval or round, and have a diameter between 2-3μm. Additionally, they contain a large, eccentrically placed nucleus along with a kinetoplast (which holds extracellular DNA). Being equipped to survive the acidic environment inside the phagosomes of macrophages, the amastigotes reproduce through the process of binary fission. At this point the amastigotes are released throughout the body, and can be ingested by female sand flies, thus completing the cycle.L. major has a sexual cycle, including a meiotic process. Mating only occurs in the sand fly vector.
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