Intraspecific and interspecific genetic variation of Gongylonema pulchrum and two rodent Gongylonema spp. (G. aegypti and G. neoplasticum), with the proposal of G. nepalensis XXXX . for the isolate in water buffaloes from Nepal.

@entity8890 @entity11520 @entity19 @entity8891 @entity5698 @entity4334 @entity3689 @entity291 @entity1237
UNASSIGNED: The gullet worm (Gongylonema pulchrum) has been recorded from a variety of mammals worldwide. In an earlier study, we demonstrated two separate transmission cycles in @entity291 ( @entity291 ) and wild mammals in Japan based on @entity4334 sequences of the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) and @entity8890 ( @entity8890 ) region of mitochondrial DNA of multiple isolates of different origins. Our earlier study additionally demonstrated two major @entity8890 haplotypes of G. pulchrum prevalent in @entity291 in Japan. In the present study, we collected G. pulchrum from @entity291 and @entity1237 ( @entity1237 ) in Alashan League, Inner Mongolia, China; Gongylonema aegypti from spiny @entity19 (Acomys dimidiatus) in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt; and Gongylonema neoplasticum from a @entity5698 ( @entity5698 ) in Okinawa Island, Japan, to analyze their genetic relationships with G. pulchrum in Japan. The gullet worms from Alashan League had almost identical rDNA @entity4334 sequences and two @entity8890 haplotypes as seen in G. pulchrum from the @entity291 in Japan. The two rodent Gongylonema spp. had distinct rDNA @entity4334 sequences compared with those of G. pulchrum; only the 18S and 5.8S rDNA sequences showed high identities at 97.2-98.7  %, while the remaining sequences were less than 75  % identical. The 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rDNA sequences of the two rodent Gongylonema spp. showed @entity4334 identities of 99.8  % (1811/1814), 100  % (158/158), and 98.9  % (3550/3590), respectively. The @entity8890 regions showed 91.6  % (338/369)-92.1  % (340/369) identities, with completely identical @entity3689 sequences. The genetic diversities of three distinct Gongylonema spp. and their possible intraspecific genetic variation may allow us to resolve the taxonomic position of Gongylonema spp. which display few obvious morphological differences from their congeners. Consequently, the Gongylonema isolate from water buffaloes ( @entity11520 ) in Nepal reported in our previous study is concluded to be a new species, and Gongylonema nepalensis @entity8891 . is erected for it.
