Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) melophagium in the sheep ked Melophagus ovinus from organic farms in Croatia: phylogenetic inferences support restriction to sheep and sheep keds and close relationship with trypanosomes from other ruminant species

Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) melophagium is a parasite of sheep transmitted by sheep keds, the sheep-restricted ectoparasite Melophagus ovinus (Diptera: Hippoboscidae). Sheep keds were 100% prevalent in sheep from five organic farms in Croatia, Southeastern Europe, whereas trypanosomes morphologically compatible with T. melophagium were 86% prevalent in the guts of the sheep keds. Multilocus phylogenetic analyses using sequences of small subunit rRNA, glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, spliced leader, and internal transcribed spacer 1 of the rDNA distinguished T. melophagium from all allied trypanosomes from other ruminant species and placed the trypanosome in the subgenus Megatrypanum. Trypanosomes from sheep keds from Croatia and Scotland, the only available isolates for comparison, shared identical sequences. All biologic and phylogenetic inferences support the restriction of T. melophagium to sheep and, especially, to the sheep keds. The comparison of trypanosomes from sheep, cattle, and deer from the same country, which was never achieved before this work, strongly supported the host-restricted specificity of trypanosomes of the subgenus Megatrypanum. Our findings indicate that with the expansion of organic farms, both sheep keds and T. melophagium may re-emerge as parasitic infections of sheep.     

There is more to maerl than meets the eye: DNA barcoding reveals a new species in Britain,Lithothamnion erinaceum sp. nov. (Hapalidiales,Rhodophyta)

Due to the high plasticity of coralline algae, identification based on morphology alone can be extremely difficult, so studies increasingly use a combination of morphology and genetics in species delimitation. A DNA barcoding study was carried out on maerl-forming coralline algae using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene, CO1, and the plastid gene, psbA, on field specimens from Falmouth and Oban together with herbarium specimens from the Natural History Museum, UK, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA. Results revealed the presence in the north of Britain of a new species, Lithothamnion erinaceum Melbourne & J. Brodie, sp. nov., which was previously misidentified as Lithothamnion glaciale. The results also indicated that Lithothamnion lemoineae, which had earlier been recorded from Britain, was not present. One of the biggest concerns at present is how organisms will respond to climate change and ocean acidification, and it is imperative that investigations are put on a firm taxonomic basis. Our study has highlighted the importance of using molecular techniques to aid in the elucidation of cryptic diversity.