title: Sarcocystis clethrionomyelaphis Matuschka, 1986 (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) infecting the large oriental vole Eothenomys miletus (Thomas) (Cricetidae: Microtinae) and its phylogenetic relationships with other species of Sarcocystis Lankester, 1882.
abstract: Sarcocystis clethrionomyelaphis Matuschka, 1986 was first identified in skeletal muscles of 47 (75.8%) of 62 large oriental voles Eothenomys miletus (Thomas) captured between March 2012 and May 2014 in Anning Prefecture of Yunnan Province (China). Sarcocyst walls were thick and possessed villous protrusions measuring 3.5-5.5 μm in length. Beauty rat snakes Elaphe taeniura (Cope) fed sarcocysts of the species shed sporulated oöcysts measuring 13-18×9-13 (16×12) μm with a prepatent period of 16 to 17 days. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA gene sequences revealed a close relationship between S. clethrionomyelaphis and other colubrid-transmitted species of Sarcocystis Lankester, 1882. This is the first report identifying S. clethrionomyelaphis from its natural intermediate host.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China, jjhu@ynu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun-Jie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Esch
authors.forename: Jin-Qing
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000469:parasitology*; D002681:China; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D033661:Oocysts / Q000166:cytology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S