title: Molecular phylogenetic relatedness of Frenkelia spp. (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) to Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles 1893: is the genus Sarcocystis paraphyletic?
abstract: The coccidians Frenkelia microti and F. glareoli (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) form tissue cysts in the brain of small rodents (intermediate hosts) while oocysts are formed in the intestine of final hosts, buzzards of the genus Buteo. The inclusion of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences (SSU rRNA) of both Frenkelia species into the SSU rRNA trees of other, tissue cyst-forming coccidia strongly supports paraphyly of the genus Sarcocystis. Frenkelia spp. exhibit close relatedness to Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles 1893, a bird-opossum parasite, recognized under its junior synonym S. neurona Dubey et al. 1991, as the causative agent of equine protozoan myeloencephalitis on the American continent. As the definition of the genus Frenkelia is based on a plesiomorphic character (affinity to the neural tissue) of supposedly low phylogenetic value, the synonymization of the genus Frenkelia with Sarcocystis is proposed. This renders the genus Sarcocystis monophyletic.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Votýpka
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hypsa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jirků
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flegr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vávra
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000469:parasitology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012335:RNA, Ribosomal