Presence of Sarcocystis sybillensis in Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon) captured in its native territory and its phylogenetic relationship with Sarcocystis nipponi.
The first study reporting the morphological characterization of Sarcocystis sybillensis was performed in 1983; however, without any molecular analysis. Sarcocystis nipponi has been recently described as a species synonymic to S. sybillensis. We reconfirmed the presence of S. sybillensis in Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon) captured in its native territory; and performed its molecular and phylogenetic characterization. The morphological characteristics of the sarcocysts were consistent with those of S. nipponi and S. sybillensis described in the first report. However, the nucleotide sequence of 18S rRNA gene of S. sybillensis showed only 91.9% identity to that of S. nipponi, suggesting low homology among the concerned Sarcocystis spp. Accordingly, S. sybillensis was found to occupy a clade distinct from that of S. nipponi in a phylogenetic tree of Sarcocystis. Therefore, the present study provides essential information on 18S rRNA-based molecular characterization of S. sybillensis and disproves the existing notion of morphology-based species synonymity of S. sibillensis and S. nipponi. These results also suggest that S. sybillensis belongs to type 2 Sarcocystis.
['Yamazaki|Akiko|A|', 'Hiroshima|Tatsuya|T|', 'Yamaguchi|Yoshitaka|Y|', 'Shirafuji|Yukiko|Y|', 'Taira|Kensuke|K|', 'Saito|Morihiro|M|', 'Kobayashi|Naoki|N|', 'Sugita-Konishi|Yoshiko|Y|', 'Kamata|Yoichi|Y|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3529-8081']
D000818:Animals D001483:Base Sequence D003670:Deer D007564:Japan D010802:Phylogeny D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S D012522:Sarcocystis D012523:Sarcocystosis
Sarcocystis sybillensis Synonym S. nipponi 18S rRNA gene Phylogenetic tree