Phylogenetic position of Eimeria antrozoi, a bat coccidium (Apicomplexa : Eimeriidae) and its relationship to morphologically similar Eimeria spp. from bats and rodents based on nuclear 18S and plastid 23S rDNA sequences

Partial plastid 23S and nuclear 18S rDNA genes were amplified and sequenced from 2 morphologically similar Eimeria species, E. antrozoi from a bat (An trozous pallidus) and E. arizonensis from deer mice (Peromyscus spp.), as w ell as some other Eimeria species from bats and rodents. The phylogenetic t rees clearly separated E. antrozoi from E. arizonensis. The phylogenies bas ed on plastid 23S rDNA data and combined data of both plastid and nuclear g enes grouped 2 bit Elmeria and 3 morphologically similar Eimeria species fr om rodents into 2 separate clades with high bootstrap support (100%, 3 rode nt Eimeria species; 72-97%, 2 bat Eimeria species), which supports E. antro zoi as a valid species, The rodent Eimeria species did not form a monophyle tic group. The 2 bat Eimeria species formed a clade with the 3 morphologica lly similar rodent Eimeria species (E. arizonensis, E. albigulae, E. onycho mysis, all from cricetid rodents) with 100% bootstrap support, whereas 2 ot her rodent Eimeria species (E. nieschulzi, E. falciformis, from murid roden ts) formed a separate clade with 100% bootstrap support, This suggests that the 2 Eimeria species from bats might be derived from rodent Eimeria speci es and may have arisen as a result of lateral host transfer between rodent and bat hosts.