Phylogenetic relationships in three species of canine Demodex mite based on partial sequences of mitochondrial 16S rDNA

Abstract

Demodex canis and D. injai are two different species, with a genetic distance of 23.3%. It would seem that the short-bodied Demodex mite D. cornei is a morphological variant of D. canis.

First Description of a Novel Parasite of the Genus <i>Demodex</i> in a Rat in Queensland, Australia

“…Short bodied mites of the genus Demodex have been reported in humans 15) , Syrian hamsters 10) , dogs 3,11) , cats 5) , ferrets 9) , and the Mediterranean water shrew 1) . Recently it has been suggested on the basis of mitochondrial rDNA analyses that short-tailed forms in dogs and humans may be morphological variants of longer tailed Demodex species as opposed to separate species 3,11,15) .…”

“…Recently it has been suggested on the basis of mitochondrial rDNA analyses that short-tailed forms in dogs and humans may be morphological variants of longer tailed Demodex species as opposed to separate species 3,11,15) . However, there appears to be disagreement as to the conclusions reached by different authors using this methodology in the dog 3,11) . In contrast, a similar study in the cat concluded that the short-tailed mite, Demodex gatoi, is a distinct species from the longer tailed form, Demodex cati 5) .…”

Detection, Prevalence and Phylogenetic Relationships of Demodex spp and further Skin Prostigmata Mites (Acari, Arachnida) in Wild and Domestic Mammals

“…We amplified a 338-bp DNA fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. We used the PCR conditions described in Sastre et al [18]. Briefly, PCR mixture was prepared in a 20μl reaction containing 5 μl of diluted DNA, PCR buffer (x1), 1.5 mmol⁄L MgCl2, 0.2 mmol⁄L of each dNTP, 0.5 μmol/L of each primer and 1 U AmpliTaq Gold DNA Polymerase (Life Technologies Corp.).…”

“…The taxonomic relationships of Demodex mites have also been estimated using the nuclear 18S rRNA gene [19,22]. While the 16S rRNA gene provides more discrimination at lower taxonomic levels [14,18,20,32,33], the 18S rRNA gene is considered more appropriate for classifications at the level of phyla and superphyla [34,35]. …”

“…The first aim of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of mites (using 16S rDNA primers that successfully amplified clinical Demodex samples [5,18,32,39]) in both captive and free-ranging wild mammals, including gray wolves ( Canis lupus ), yellow-bellied marmots ( Marmota flaviventris ), and four species of vespertillionid bats ( Myotis californicus , M . lucifugus , M .…”