Identification and characterization of a new Leishmania major specific 3'nucleotidase/nuclease protein.

We report the characterization of a new Leishmania major gene, lmaj3'nt/nu, encoding a 382 amino acids protein, Lmaj3'NT/NU, that belongs to the 3'nucleotidase/nuclease family. Interestingly, sequence and phylogenetic analysis show that this protein is Leishmania major specific and thus constitutes a new 3'nucleotidase/nuclease subgroup. Lmaj3'NT/NU displays nuclease enzymatic activity and Western blot analysis shows that it is exclusively expressed in promastigotes.