Sequence variations in small-subunit ribosomal RNAs of Hartmannella vermiformis and their phylogenetic implications |
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Authors: | Weekers PH; Gast RJ; Fuerst PA; Byers TJ |
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Institution: | Department of Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Nijmegen. |
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Abstract: | Evidence of associations between free-living amoebas and human disease has
been increasing in recent years. Knowledge about phylogenetic relationships
that may be important for the understanding of pathogenicity in the genera
involved is very limited at present. Consequently, we have begun to study
these relationships and report here on the phylogeny of Hartmannella
vermiformis, a free-living amoeba that can harbor the etiologic agent of
Legionnaires' disease. Our analysis is based on studies of small-subunit
ribosomal RNA genes (srDNA). Nucleotide sequences were determined for
nuclear srDNA from three strains of H. vermiformis isolated from the United
Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. These sequences then were compared
with a sequence previously obtained for a North American isolate by J. H.
Gunderson and M. L. Sogin. The four genes are 1,840 bp long, with an
average GC content of 49.6%. Sequence differences among the strains range
are 0.38%-0.76%. Variation occurs at 19 positions and includes 2
single-base indels plus 14 monotypic and 3 ditypic single-base
substitutions. Variation is limited to eight helix/loop structures
according to a current model for srRNA secondary structure. Parsimony,
distance, and bootstrap analyses used to examine phylogenetic relationships
between the srDNA sequences of H. vermiformis and other eukaryotes
indicated that Hartmannella sequences were most closely related to those of
Acanthamoeba and the alga Cryptomonas. All ditypic sites were consistent
with a separation between European and North American strains of
Hartmannella, but results of other tests of this relationship were
statistically inconclusive.
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