Molecular evidence for the synonymy of three species of Paragonimus, P. Ohirai Miyazaki, 1939, P. iloktsuenensis Chen, 1940 and P. sadoensis Miyazaki et al., 1968

Abstract

AbstractThe Paragonimus ohirai group, named after P. ohirai Miyazaki, 1939, consists of three nominal species. Paragonimus iloktsuenensis Chen, 1940 and P. sadoensis Miyazaki et al., 1968, the other members of the group, were proposed primarily because of perceived differences in metacercarial morphology and/or host preferences. It has long been recognized that adults of the three were virtually indistinguishable. With the application of genetic techniques, it has become clear that the three forms can exchange genes freely, and that differences in metacercarial morphology constitute a polymorphism probably due to a single gene inherited in Mendelian fashion. Here, additional genetic data (DNA sequences from the second internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal gene cluster and from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) are presented in support of the synonymy.