NTU Undergraduates' research April 2014 - Biosciences | Page 69

Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitical diseases found in the tropics, sub-tropics and parts of southern Europe.
Caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania, the diseases is transmitted by the bite of an infected
female Phlebotomus sandfly. The diseases presents in three main clinical manifestations; visceral
(VL), cutaneous (CL) and mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis (ML). Around twenty species of Leishmania
are known to be pathogenic to humans. L. mexicana was used in this study to investigate the effect
of oxygen on growth and infectivity of parasites cultured in RPMI and Schneider media. Results
showed that L. mexicana struggled to grow in cultures with oxygen, but thrived when grown without
oxygen. Difference in body measurement and monocyte infectivity were seen as a result of parasite
culture in different conditions, however the PCR digest did not show any difference in gene
expression. The aim is to identify difference in growth and morphological characteristics of L.
mexicana promastigotes in different media, in the presence of and without oxygen.