RESUMO
Apicomplexa is a large phylum of parasitic protists renowned for significant negative health impacts on humans and livestock worldwide. Despite the prevalence and negative impacts of apicomplexans across many animal groups, relatively little attention has been given to apicomplexan parasites of invertebrates, especially marine invertebrates. Previous work has reported an apicomplexan parasite 'X' (APX), a parasite that has been histologically and ultrastructurally identified from the commercially important flat oyster Ostrea chilensis in New Zealand. This apicomplexan may exacerbate host vulnerability to the infectious disease bonamiosis. In this study, we report 18S rRNA sequences amplified from APX-infected O. chilensis tissues. Phylogenetic analyses clearly established that the 18S sequences were of apicomplexan origin; however, their detailed relationship to known apicomplexan groups is less resolved. Two specific probes, designed from the putative APX 18S rRNA sequence, co-localised with APX cells in in situ hybridisations, further supporting our hypothesis that the 18S sequences were from APX. These sequences will facilitate the future development of inexpensive and sensitive molecular diagnostic tests for APX, thereby assisting research focussed on the biology and ecology of this organism and its role in morbidity and mortality of O. chilensis.
Assuntos
Apicomplexa/classificação , Apicomplexa/genética , Ostrea/parasitologia , RNA Ribossômico 18S/genética , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Nova Zelândia , FilogeniaRESUMO
Yersinia ruckeri is a salmonid pathogen with widespread distribution in cool-temperate waters including Australia and New Zealand, two isolated environments with recently developed salmonid farming industries. Phylogenetic comparison of 58 isolates from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Chile, Finland and China based on non-recombinant core genome SNPs revealed multiple deep-branching lineages, with a most recent common ancestor estimated at 18 500 years BP (12 355-24 757 95% HPD) and evidence of Australasian endemism. Evolution within the Tasmanian Atlantic salmon serotype O1b lineage has been slow, with 63 SNPs describing the variance over 27 years. Isolates from the prevailing lineage are poorly/non-motile compared to a lineage pre-vaccination, introduced in 1997, which is highly motile but has not been isolated since from epizootics. A non-motile phenotype has arisen independently in Tasmania compared to Europe and USA through a frameshift in fliI, encoding the ATPase of the flagella cluster. We report for the first time lipopolysaccharide O-antigen serotype O2 isolates in Tasmania. This phenotype results from deletion of the O-antigen cluster and consequent loss of high-molecular-weight O-antigen. This phenomenon has occurred independently on three occasions on three continents (Australasia, North America and Asia) as O2 isolates from the USA, China and Tasmania share the O-antigen deletion but occupy distant lineages. Despite the European and North American origins of the Australasian salmonid stocks, the lineages of Y. ruckeri in Australia and New Zealand are distinct from those of the northern hemisphere, suggesting they are pre-existing ancient strains that have emerged and evolved with the introduction of susceptible hosts following European colonization.