PNEUMOCYSTIS-CARINII PNEUMONIA IN THOROUGHBRED FOALS - IDENTIFICATIONOF A GENETICALLY DISTINCT ORGANISM BY DNA AMPLIFICATION

Genetically distinct forms of Pneumocystis carinii infect several mamm alian hosts. We report the amplification of P. carinii DNA from sample s of two infected thoroughbred foal lungs by using primers designed fr om the sequence of a P. carinii mitochondrial rRNA gene; these primers also prime the amplification of P. carinii DNA from other hosts. The nucleotide sequence of part of the mitochondrial rRNA gene amplified f rom P. carinii infecting one of the foals was determined and found to be distinct from that of published rat-, rabbit-, ferret-, and human-d erived P. carinii sequences.