ISOENZYMATIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ETIOLOGIC AGENT OF CANINE LEISHMANIASIS IN THE GRANADA REGION OF SOUTHERN SPAIN

Sixty-four strains of Leishmania of canine origin, 61 visceral and thr ee cutaneous, were isoenzymatically examined. These were collected fro m 23 sites in the Granada region in southern Spain. Starch gel was use d in electrophoresis and a total of 15 enzymes were studied. All of th e visceral strains and two of the cutaneous ones were identified as L. infantum zymodeme GR-1(= MON-1). The third cutaneous strain was of a different zymodeme, belonging to the same complex but differing in the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (= 105) enzyme. This zymodeme has b een named GR-16 and is equivalent to L. infantum MON-105; it has not b een previously reported in dogs or any other animal reservoir.