The use of recombinant K39, KMP11, and crude antigen-based indirect ELISA as a serological diagnostic tool and a measure of exposure for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Sri Lanka is caused by Leishmania donovani, a parasite widely known to cause visceral leishmaniasis. Despite the fact that CL is not generally believed to elicit serological immune responses, recent studies show the presence of antibody responses against this atypical form of CL. This study assesses the potential of using recombinant K39 (rK39), KMP11, and crude parasite antigen-based indirect ELISAs as serological diagnostic tools and measures of exposure for CL in Sri Lanka.

Automated multi-sample DNA extraction for genotyping live Xenopus embryos.

Background: Xenopus frogs are used extensively for modeling genetic diseases owing to characteristics such as the abundance of eggs combined with their large size, allowing easy manipulation, and rapid external embryo development enabling the examination of cellular and phenotypic alterations throughout embryogenesis. However, genotyping of mutant animals is currently done either as part of a large group, requiring many embryos, or late in development with welfare effects. Therefore, we adapted the Zebrafish Embryonic Genotyper for rapid genomic DNA extraction from Xenopus tropicalis and Xenopus laevis at early stages.