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Sarcocystis eothenomysi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the large oriental vole Eothenomys miletus (Thomas) (Cricetidae: Microtinae) from Anning, China

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Abstract

Fifty-six oriental voles, Eothenomys miletus (Thomas), were collected in Anning prefecture of Yunnan Province (China) between March 2012 and December 2013 and examined for the presence of sarcocysts. Sarcosysts of a new species, Sarcocystis eothenomysi n. sp., were found in 14 out of 56 E. miletus (25%); they possessed a striated cyst wall, c.1–2 μm thick. Under transmission electron microscopy the cysts of S. eothenomysi exhibited numerous small, irregular protrusions, which may appear T-shaped in some sections. A phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA gene sequences indicated that S. eothenomysi shares closest affinity with those species of Sarcocystis Lankester, 1982, which use cobra or viperid snakes as definitive hosts. We therefore, hypothesise that a venomous snake may serve as the definitive host for S. eothenomysi. This is the first species of Sarcocystis reported from Eothenomys spp.

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Acknowledgement

This study was funded by the Natural Sciences Foundation of China (Grant 30770257) and the Foundation for Science of School of Life Sciences Yunnan University (Grant 2013S206).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China

    Jun-Jie Hu, Qiong Liu & Yan-Fen Yang

  2. Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 27106, USA

    Gerald W. Esch

  3. Haiyuan College, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650101, China

    Yan-Mei Guo

  4. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China

    Feng-Cai Zou

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  1. Jun-Jie Hu
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  2. Qiong Liu
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  6. Feng-Cai Zou
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Correspondence to Jun-Jie Hu.

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Hu, JJ., Liu, Q., Yang, YF. et al. Sarcocystis eothenomysi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the large oriental vole Eothenomys miletus (Thomas) (Cricetidae: Microtinae) from Anning, China. Syst Parasitol 89, 73–81 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-014-9506-3

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