Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of human pathogenic Leptospira species circulating in a tertiary care hospital of Western Uttar Pradesh in India

ABSTRACT

Leptospirosis is identified as an important reemerging zoonotic disease distributed worldwide, caused by Leptospira. This study was carried out to explore the genetic characterization and its phylogenetic analysis of circulating Leptospira species, among the Aligarh region of western Uttar Pradesh in India, utilizing secY gene-based nucleotide sequence. A total of 190 human samples were included in the study. Positive samples were identified by ELISA, MAT and PCR. MAT was carried out utilizing local circulating Leptospira serovars. Four positive samples including two MAT positive samples were subjected to DNA sequencing for further confirmation and phylogenetic tree was constructed. Out of the total of 190 samples, 24 patients were found positive by ELISA and 29 by PCR. Two samples were found reactive in MAT with L. interrogans serovars like hebdomadis and copenhageni. Phylogenetic analysis of four isolates based on partial secY gene nucleotide sequences revealed that species obtained from the Aligarh region clustered with the several published pathogenic Leptospira interrogans, while some of our isolates nucleotide sequences also clustered with the published sequence of intermediate and saprophytic Leptospira serovars like Leptospira inadai and Leptospira meyeri. This pilot study will help us to decipher the present scenario of circulating serovars of leptospira as well as to identify the nucleotide changes in secY gene, in this region.

KEYWORDS:

• Leptospirosis
• sequencing
• phylogenetic analysis
• Aligarh

Acknowledgments

Authors wish to thank, Dr. Vijayachari P, Dr. Vimal Raj and Mr. Vinod, Regional Centre for Leptospirosis, ICMR, Port Blair, for providing training and other technical support. The authors are thankful to DST-SERB and UGC for financial help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the SERB, Department of Science and Technology [SB/YS/LS-96/2013].