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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 2750-2754, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Rhinosporidium seeberi's 18S Small-Subunit Ribosomal DNA Groups This Pathogen among Members of the Protoctistan Mesomycetozoa Clade

Roger A. Herr,1 Libero Ajello,2 John W. Taylor,3 Sarath N. Arseculeratne,4 and Leonel Mendoza1,*

Medical Technology Program, Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-10311; Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 303222; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-31023; and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka4

Received 26 February 1999/Returned for modification 4 May 1999/Accepted 25 May 1999

For the past 100 years the phylogenetic affinities of Rhinosporidium seeberi have been controversial. Based on its morphological features, it has been classified as a protozoan or as a member of the kingdom Fungi. We have amplified and sequenced nearly a full-length 18S small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence from R. seeberi. Using phylogenetic analysis, by parsimony and distance methods, of R. seeberi's 18S SSU rDNA and that of other eukaryotes, we found that this enigmatic pathogen of humans and animals clusters with a novel group of fish parasites referred to as the DRIP clade (Dermocystidium, rossete agent, Ichthyophonus, and Psorospermium), near the animal-fungal divergence. Our phylogenetic analyses also indicate that R. seeberi is the sister taxon of the two Dermocystidium species used in this study. This molecular affinity is remarkable since members of the genus Dermocystidium form spherical structures in infected hosts, produce endospores, have not been cultured, and possess mitochondria with flat cristae. With the addition of R. seeberi to this clade, the acronym DRIP is no longer appropriate. We propose to name this monophyletic clade Mesomycetozoa to reflect the group's phylogenetic association within the Eucarya.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Medical Technology Program, Department of Microbiology, 322 N. Kedzie Lab., Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1031. Phone: (517) 353-7800. Fax: (517) 432-2006. E-mail: mendoza9{at}pilot.msu.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 2750-2754, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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