Two microsporidian genera, Anncaliiab21Issi, Krylova, & Nicolaeva 1993 and Brachiolab9Cali et al. 1998, possess a Nosema-type life cycle and unique cell surface ornamentations, which include precocious electron-dense coating of the plasmalemma and a variety of secretory structures deposited on the parasite surface and scattered in the host cell cytoplasm. Comparative analysis of ultrastructure of Anncaliia meligethi (the type species of the genus Anncaliia) and of B. vesicularum and B. algerae (the best-studied members of the genus Brachiola) clearly demonstrated that these microsporidia share many distinctive morphological features. The comparison of small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences showed high sequence identity of A. meligethi and B. algerae. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the rDNA sequences of A. meligethi clustered with those of B. algerae suggesting a close relatedness of these microsporidia. The combination of molecular and morphological data provided clear evidence that these microsporidia belong to the same genus and therefore, warranted emendation of the genus Anncaliia and establishments of the following new combinations: Anncaliia vesicularum nov. comb., Anncaliia algerae nov. comb., Anncaliia connori nov. comb., and Anncaliia gambiae nov. comb. The generic name Brachiola is submerged according to the rule of priority.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)26-35
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
Volume53
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2006

    Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology

    Research areas

  • Anncaliia, Brachiola, Microsporidia, rDNA, Taxonomy

ID: 70807950