Phylogeny, Diversity, Distribution, and Host Specificity of Haemoproteus spp. (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida: Haemoproteidae) of Palaearctic Tortoises
Language English Country United States Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PubMed
25939459
DOI
10.1111/jeu.12227
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Barcoding, Leptoconops, Testudo, cytochrome b, intraspecific variability, morphology,
- MeSH
- Cytochromes b genetics MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Haemosporida classification cytology genetics MeSH
- Haplotypes MeSH
- Host Specificity * MeSH
- Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
- DNA, Protozoan MeSH
- Protozoan Infections, Animal parasitology MeSH
- Turtles parasitology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- Cytochromes b MeSH
- DNA, Protozoan MeSH
A complex wide-range study on the haemoproteid parasites of chelonians was carried out for the first time. Altogether, 811 samples from four tortoise species from an extensive area between western Morocco and eastern Afghanistan and between Romania and southern Syria were studied by a combination of microscopic and molecular-genetic methods. Altogether 160 Haemoproteus-positive samples were gathered in the area between central Anatolia and eastern Afghanistan. According to variability in the cytochrome b gene, two monophyletic evolutionary lineages were distinguished; by means of microscopic analysis it was revealed that they corresponded to two previously described species-Haemoproteus anatolicum and Haemoproteus caucasica. Their distribution areas overlap only in a narrow strip along the Zagros Mts. range in Iran. This fact suggests the involvement of two different vector species with separated distribution. Nevertheless, no vectors were confirmed. According to phylogenetic analyses, H. caucasica represented a sister group to H. anatolicum, and both of them were most closely related to H. pacayae and H. peltocephali, described from South American river turtles. Four unique haplotypes were revealed in the population of H. caucasica, compared with seven haplotypes in H. anatolicum. Furthermore, H. caucasica was detected in two tortoise species, Testudo graeca and Testudo horsfieldii, providing evidence that Haemoproteus is not strictly host-specific to the tortoise host species.
References provided by Crossref.org
Unresolved haemosporidia of the Australian skink, Egernia stokesii
GENBANK
JQ039742, KM015455, KM068150, KM068158
