title: Mitochondrial Phylogenomics yields Strongly Supported Hypotheses for Ascaridomorph Nematodes.
abstract: Ascaridomorph nematodes threaten the health of humans and other animals worldwide. Despite their medical, veterinary and economic importance, the identification of species lineages and establishing their phylogenetic relationships have proved difficult in some cases. Many working hypotheses regarding the phylogeny of ascaridomorphs have been based on single-locus data, most typically nuclear ribosomal RNA. Such single-locus hypotheses lack independent corroboration, and for nuclear rRNA typically lack resolution for deep relationships. As an alternative approach, we analyzed the mitochondrial (mt) genomes of anisakids (~14 kb) from different fish hosts in multiple countries, in combination with those of other ascaridomorphs available in the GenBank database. The circular mt genomes range from 13,948-14,019 bp in size and encode 12 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs and 22 transfer RNA genes. Our analysis showed that the Pseudoterranova decipiens complex consists of at least six cryptic species. In contrast, the hypothesis that Contracaecum ogmorhini represents a complex of cryptic species is not supported by mt genome data. Our analysis recovered several fundamental and uncontroversial ascaridomorph clades, including the monophyly of superfamilies and families, except for Ascaridiidae, which was consistent with the results based on nuclear rRNA analysis. In conclusion, mt genome analysis provided new insights into the phylogeny and taxonomy of ascaridomorph nematodes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730046, P. R. China.|College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410128, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-Hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nadler
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730046, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kollataja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Podolska
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Amelio
authors.affiliation: Genecology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 4558, Australia.
authors.forename: Renfu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Robin B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gasser
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730046, P. R. China.|College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410128, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017163:Anisakis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D005399:Fishes / Q000469:parasitology; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal