Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

8 p.

Publication Date

1-2012

Publisher

Wiley

Source Publication

Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

Source ISSN

1066-5234

Original Item ID

doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00596.x

Abstract

Understanding the genetic structure of parasite populations on the natural landscape can reveal important aspects of disease ecology and epidemiology and can indicate parasite dispersal across the landscape. Myxobolus cerebralis (Myxozoa: Myxosporea), the causative agent of whirling disease in the definitive host Tubifex tubifex, is native to Eurasia and has spread to more than 25 states in the USA. The small amounts of data available to date suggest that M. cerebralis has little genetic variability. We examined the genetic variability of parasites infecting the definitive host T. tubifex in the Madison River, MT, and also from other parts of North America and Europe. We cloned and sequenced 18S ribosomal DNA and the internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) gene. Five oligochaetes were examined for 18S and five for ITS-1, only one individual was examined for both genes. We found two different 18S rRNA haplotypes of M. cerebralis from five worms and both intra- and interworm genetic variation for ITS-1, which showed 16 different haplotypes from among 20 clones. Comparison of our sequences with those from other studies revealed M. cerebralis from MT was similar to the parasite collected from Alaska, Oregon, California, and Virginia in the USA and from Munich, Germany, based on 18S, whereas parasite sequences from West Virginia were very different. Combined with the high haplotype diversity of ITS-1 and uniqueness of ITS-1 haplotypes, our results show that M. cerebralis is more variable than previously thought and raises the possibility of multiple introductions of the parasite into North America.

Comments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, Vol. 59, No. 1 (January/February 2012): 80-87. DOI. © 2012 Wiley. Used with permission

This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.

Nilanjan Lodh was affiliated with University of Vermont at the time of publication.

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