Molecular phylogenetic analysis in Hammondia-like organisms based on partial Hsp70 coding sequences.

The 70 kDa heat-shock protein (Hsp70) sequences are considered one of the most conserved proteins in all domains of life from Archaea to eukaryotes. Hammondia heydorni, H. hammondi, Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora hughesi and N. caninum (Hammondia-like organisms) are closely related tissue cyst-forming coccidians that belong to the subfamily Toxoplasmatinae. The phylogenetic reconstruction using cytoplasmic Hsp70 coding genes of Hammondia-like organisms revealed the genetic sequences of T. gondii, Neospora spp. and H. heydorni to possess similar levels of evolutionary distance. In addition, at least 2 distinct genetic groups could be recognized among the H. heydorni isolates. Such results are in agreement with those obtained with internal transcribed spacer-1 rDNA (ITS-1) sequences. In order to compare the nucleotide diversity among different taxonomic levels within Apicomplexa, Hsp70 coding sequences of the following apicomplexan organisms were included in this study: Cryptosporidium, Theileria, Babesia, Plasmodium and Cyclospora. Such analysis revealed the Hammondia-like organism to be the lowest divergent group when compared to other groups within the phylum Apicomplexa. In conclusion, the Hsp70 coding sequences proved to be a valuable genetic marker for phylogenetic reconstruction and may constitute a good candidate to be used with other genes for species phylogeny within this group of organisms.

Freqüência de parasitos gastrintestinais em cães e gatos atendidos em hospital-escola veterinário da cidade de São Paulo / Frequency of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs and cats referred to a veterinary school hospital in the city of São Paulo

Fecal samples from 1755 dogs and 327 cats were examined for the presence of helminths and protozoan forms. From the total samples, 486 (27.7 percent) dogs and 103 (31.5 percent) cats presented at least one parasite. The main genus of parasite in dogs were Ancylostoma (12.7 percent), Giardia (8.5 percent), Cystoisosopora (4.4 percent), Toxocara (2.6 percent), and Cryptosporidium (2.4 percent). The ocurrence of Ancylostoma was associated to male dogs, older than one year, while Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Cystoisospora and Toxocara were associated to dogs younger than one year (P<0.05). Among cats, the most frequent parasites were Cryptosporidium (11.3 percent), Giardia (8.3 percent), Cystoisosopora (8.3 percent), Toxocara (6.1 percent), and Ancylostoma (2.1 percent). Cryptosporidium and Cystoisosopora were more prevalent in cats younger than one year (P < 0.05)