title: Are Tritrichomonas foetus and Tritrichomonas suis synonyms?
abstract: Tritrichomonas suis, a tritrichomonad of pigs, and the related species Tritrichomonas foetus, a tritrichomonad of cattle, are morphologically identical. The taxonomic relationship between these two tritrichomonads has been questioned ever since they were established as distinct species in 1843 and 1928, respectively. Here, we compare the similarities of morphology, ultrastructure, distribution, host specificity, characteristics of in vitro cultivation, immunology, biochemistry and analysis of molecular data from published sources between these two species. All data indicate that these two tritrichomonad species are identical. Thus, we propose that T. foetus and T. suis are synonyms.
authors.affiliation: Center for Parasitic Organisms and Key Laboratory for Tropical Diseases Control of The Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Zhongshan (Sun Yat-Sen) University, Guangzhou 510275, The People's Republic of China. lsslzr@zsu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Zhao-Rong
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Lun
authors.forename: Xiao-Guang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xiang-Rui
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ming-Quan
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010802:Phylogeny; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal; D013045:Species Specificity; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D014318:Tritrichomonas / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016835:Tritrichomonas foetus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure