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In this work, we describe the first Leishmania -infecting leishbunyavirus-the first virus other than Leishmania RNA virus (LRV) found in trypanosomatid parasites. Its host is Leishmania martiniquensis , a human pathogen causing infections with a wide range of manifestations from asymptomatic to severe visceral disease. This virus ( Lmar LBV1) possesses many characteristic features of leishbunyaviruses, such as tripartite organization of its RNA genome, with ORFs encoding RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, surface glycoprotein, and nucleoprotein on L, M, and S segments, respectively. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that Lmar LBV1 originated from leishbunyaviruses of monoxenous trypanosomatids and, probably, is a result of genomic re-assortment. The Lmar LBV1 facilitates parasites' infectivity in vitro in primary murine macrophages model. The discovery of a virus in L. martiniquensis poses the question of whether it influences pathogenicity of this parasite in vivo, similarly to the LRV in other Leishmania species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Here we report sequence and phylogenetic analysis of two new isolates of Leishmania RNA virus 2 (LRV2) found in Leishmania major isolated from human patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in south Uzbekistan. These new virus-infected flagellates were isolated in the same region of Uzbekistan and the viral sequences differed by only nineteen SNPs, all except one being silent mutations. Therefore, we concluded that they belong to a single LRV2 species. New viruses are closely related to the LRV2-Lmj-ASKH documented in Turkmenistan in 1995, which is congruent with their shared host ( L . major ) and common geographical origin.