title: Analysis of the 18S rRNA gene sequence of a Hepatozoon detected in two Japanese dogs.
abstract: Partial sequences of the 18S rRNA gene (625 bp) from a Hepatozoon detected in two canine hepatozoonosis cases, one clinical and one subclinical, in Japan were analyzed. Both sequences were identical to each other and they were closely related to the Hepatozoon canis strain found in Israel with 99% (617/625) nucleotide identity. Both Hepatozoon americanum and Hepatozoon catasbianae were distantly related to the Japanese Hepatozoon with 94% (586/625) and 91% (566/625) identities, respectively. In a phylogenetic tree, the Japanese Hepatozoon was most closely related to H. canis from Israel but was significantly different than H. americanum and H. catasbianae. These results suggest that the Hepatozoon detected in the Japanese dogs might be a strain variant of H. canis, but is apparently a different species than H. americanum.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan. inokuma@agr.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Kazunobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Onishi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003044:Coccidia / Q000235:genetics*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S