Molecular characterization of a Leishmania donovani infantum antigen identified as histone H2A

A Leishmania donovani infantum promastigote cDNA expression library was screened with a serum obtained from a dog naturally infected with this parasite. One of the positive clones obtained revealed nucleotide sequence similarities with the histone H2A genes from various organisms. Northern blot analyses and sequence data of three independently isolated cDNA clones indicated that the Leishmania H2A mRNAs are polyadenylated, as are the basal histone mRNAs of higher eukaryotes and the histone mRNAs of yeast. The analysis of the genomic distribution of the DNA coding for histone H2A suggested that, in L. d. infantum, there are at least four genes coding for the H2A protein. It is likely that there is a simultaneous expression of at least two of the H2A genes since differences in nucleotide sequence between two of the sequenced cDNAs were observed. Affinity-purified antibodies against the beta-galactosidase-fused H2A protein recognize specifically a Leishmania protein band with a molecular mass of 14 kDa.