Leishmania infantum

Comparative bioinformatic analyses showed that the size of the L. infantum BRCA2 protein is approximately three times smaller (125 kD) than its human counterpart. Furthermore, analyses revealed that LiBRCA2 possesses key features of the BRCA2 family. The smaller size of the Leishmania BRCA2 DNA repair protein has been exploited to better understand its function in homologous recombination and its interaction with the LiRAD51 recombinase. == Reservoir hosts ==

L. infantum is spread by Phlebotomus sand fly vectors and is able to infect numerous domestic and wild mammals. The most notable targets of this disease, zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, are canines in southern Europe. Infections in wildlife tend to be uncommon. To further the understanding of possible hosts in Europe, xenodiagnosis has shown that hares (Lepus granatensis), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), black rats (Rattus rattus), and the American crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) are all able to transmit the disease to vectors. There is also evidence that red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and other canids may contribute to transmission. There are still potential hosts in Europe whose roles are still unclear, including felines, mustelids, insectivores, chiroptera, and various rodent species. ==References==