Molecular Identification of Haemadipsa rjukjuana (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipsidae) in Gageo Island, Korea.
There are 60 species of blood-feeding land leeches, 50 species belonging to the family Haemadipsidae and 10 species belonging to the family Xerobdellidae. Despite recent papers on the land leeches, their taxonomic identification is not fully understood, especially at a species level. In Korea, there have been no historical records of the terrestrial leeches, but recently an unrecorded blood-feeding land leech was discovered at Gageo-do (Island), Korea. Molecular analysis was used to identify the species of 29 leeches collected from Mt. Dock-Sil in Gageo-do. Conventional PCR was conducted using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genetic marker. The 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the leeches share 99.9% identity with Haemadipsa rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan), and the CO1 sequences revealed that the leeches are very close to H. rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan). The CO1 sequences were separated into 2 categories, 1 with 94.6% and the other with 94.3% similarity to the H. rjukjuana L00115A (inhabiting Taiwan). This new finding of the land leech is the first record in Korea. In addition, the north range of the distribution of the blood-feeding leech (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipisidae) should be reconsidered including Korea.
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Sohyun
S
Won
College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 306-764, Korea.
Bae Keun
BK
Park
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Baek Jun
BJ
Kim
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Hye Won
HW
Kim
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Jun Gu
JG
Kang
National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon 404-708, Korea.
Tae Seo
TS
Park
National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon 404-708, Korea.
Hong Yul
HY
Seo
National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon 404-708, Korea.
Ye
Y
Eun
National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon 404-708, Korea.
Ki Gyoung
KG
Kim
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Joon Seok
JS
Chae
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D007865:Leeches / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
Haemadipsa rjukjuana; blood-feeding vector; terrestrial leech