Molecular Phylogeny of Babesia poelea From Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster) From Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific

• Published in: The Journal of parasitology 2006-04, Vol.92 (2), p.423-425
• Main Authors: Yabsley, Michael J, Work, Thierry M, Rameyer, Robert A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal morphology; Animals; Atolls; Aves; Babesia; Babesia - classification; Babesia - genetics; Babesia poelea; Babesiosis - parasitology; Babesiosis - veterinary; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Bird Diseases - parasitology; Birds; Blood; Conserved sequence; DNA sequencing; DNA, Protozoan - blood; DNA, Protozoan - chemistry; Domestic animals; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Invertebrates; Mammals; Marine; Molecular Sequence Data; Morphology; Pacific Islands; Parasite hosts; Parasites; Parasitology; Parsimony; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Piroplasmia; Polymerase chain reaction; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Research Notes; RNA, Ribosomal - genetics; rRNA 18S; rRNA genes; Schizonts; Sequence Alignment - veterinary; Sula leucogaster; Theileria; Tubulin; Tubulin - genetics; Ungulates; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
• ISSN: 0022-3395; 1937-2345
• DOI: 10.1645/GE-617R.1

The phylogenetic relationship of avian Babesia with other piroplasms remains unclear, mainly because of a lack of objective criteria such as molecular phylogenetics. In this study, our objective was to sequence the entire 18S, ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 regions of the rRNA gene and partial ß-tubulin gene of B. poelea, first described from brown boobies (Sula leucogaster) from the central Pacific, and compare them to those of other piroplasms. Phylogenetic analyses of the entire 18S rRNA gene sequence revealed that B. poelea belonged to the clade of piroplasms previously detected in humans, domestic dogs, and wild ungulates in the western United States. The entire ITS-1, 5.8S, ITS-2, and partial ß-tubulin gene sequence shared conserved regions with previously described Babesia and Theileria species. The intron of the ß-tubulin gene was 45 bp. This is the first molecular characterization of an avian piroplasm.