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Phylogenetic Position of Small‐Ruminant Infecting Piroplasms
Author(s) -
AHMED JABBAR S.,
LUO JIANXUN,
SCHNITTGER LEONHARD,
SEITZER ULRIKE,
JONGEJAN FRANS,
YIN HONG
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1373.074
Subject(s) - theileria , biology , phylogenetic tree , polyphyly , babesia , ovis , 18s ribosomal rna , phylogenetics , zoology , virology , clade , genetics , gene , parasite hosting , ecology , world wide web , computer science
Theileria and Babesia are tick‐transmitted protozoa that cause great economical losses in livestock. Recently, interest has risen in sheep‐infecting piroplasms and a number of previously unidentified pathogens were described, particularly in China. To address the phylogenetic relationship of Theileria and Babesia species infecting sheep, the complete sequences of the 18 S small subunit ribosomal RNA genes of a panel of piroplasm isolates, including T. lestoquardi , T. ovis , T. separata , B. ovis , B. motasi , B. crassa , and several novel species, were compared. The classification based on the established phylogenetic tree corresponded with traditional systematics and revealed that sheep/goat piroplasm species are of a polyphyletic origin. In addition, these studies revealed the existence of at least two novel sheep/goat piroplasm species, designated Theileria sp. (China 1) and Theileria sp. (China 2).