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Polymerase chain reaction-based identification of Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum, with remarks on species identity of haemosporidian lineages deposited in GenBank

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Abstract

Numerous lineages of avian malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium have been deposited in GenBank. However, only 11 morphospecies of Plasmodium have been linked to these lineages. Such linking is important because it provides opportunities to combine the existing knowledge of traditional parasitology with novel genetic information of these parasites obtained by molecular techniques. This study linked one mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene lineage with morphospecies Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum, a cosmopolitan avian malaria parasite which causes lethal disease in some birds. One species of Plasmodium (mitochondrial cyt b gene lineage P-GRW6) was isolated from naturally infected adult great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and inoculated to one naive juvenile individual of the same host species. Heavy parasitaemia developed in the subinoculated bird, which enabled identification of the morphospecies and deposition of its voucher specimens. The parasite of this lineage belongs to P. elongatum. Illustrations of blood stages of this parasite are given. Other lineages closely related to P. elongatum were identified. The validity of the subgenus Huffia is supported by phylogenetic analysis. Mitochondrial cyt b gene lineages, with GenBank accession nos. AF069611 and AY733088, belong to Plasmodium cathemerium and P. elongatum, respectively; these lineages have been formerly attributed to P. elongatum and P. relictum, respectively. Some other incorrect species identifications of avian haematozoa in GenBank have been identified. We propose a strategy to minimise the number of such mistakes in GenBank in the future.

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Acknowledgements

This article benefited from comments made by John R. Baker. The authors are grateful to Alan Warren, Natural History Museum, London for providing the type material of P. elongatum, and Vaidas Palinauskas for assistance during the preparation of Fig. 1. The study was supported in part by the Swedish Research Council, Carl Tryggers Foundation, the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, and SYNTHESYS. The experiments described herein comply with the current laws of Sweden, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, Vilnius University, Akademijos 2, Vilnius LT, 08412, Lithuania

    Gediminas Valkiūnas, Asta Križanauskienė & Tatjana A. Iezhova

  2. Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Blvd. Tzar Osvoboditel 1, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Pavel Zehtindjiev & Dimitar Dimitrov

  3. Department of Animal Ecology, Ecology Building, Lund University, 22362, Lund, Sweden

    Staffan Bensch

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  1. Gediminas Valkiūnas
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  2. Pavel Zehtindjiev
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  3. Dimitar Dimitrov
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  4. Asta Križanauskienė
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  5. Tatjana A. Iezhova
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  6. Staffan Bensch
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Correspondence to Gediminas Valkiūnas.

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Valkiūnas, G., Zehtindjiev, P., Dimitrov, D. et al. Polymerase chain reaction-based identification of Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum, with remarks on species identity of haemosporidian lineages deposited in GenBank. Parasitol Res 102, 1185–1193 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0892-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0892-9

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