and reference genomes highlight genome structure and gene evolution in the subgenus.

The unicellular protozoan parasite causes the neglected tropical disease leishmaniasis, affecting 12 million people in 98 countries. In South America, where the subgenus predominates, so far only () and () have been sequenced, assembled and annotated as reference genomes. Addressing this deficit in molecular information can inform species typing, epidemiological monitoring and clinical treatment.