Here we have characterized
Leishmania major
(Friedlin) telomeric terminus (the very end) using recombinants obtained by a vector-adaptor cloning protocol. As in
L. donovani, the last nine nucleotides of
L. major terminus are 5'-GGTTAGGGT-OH 3', differing from
Trypanosoma cruzi
and
T. brucei terminus 5'GGGTTAGGG-OH 3', thus indicating that these sequences are genus specific. We have also made a comparative analysis between
L. major and
L. donovani telomere-associated sequences, and described a novel non-repeated telomeric associated sequence common to
L. major low molecular weight chromosomal bands.
