Molecular Identification of Haemadipsa rjukjuana (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipsidae) in Gageo Island, Korea.
- Author:
Sohyun WON
1
;
Bae Keun PARK
;
Baek Jun KIM
;
Hye Won KIM
;
Jun Gu KANG
;
Tae Seo PARK
;
Hong Yul SEO
;
Ye EUN
;
Ki Gyoung KIM
;
Joon Seok CHAE
Author Information
1. Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea. jschae@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Haemadipsa rjukjuana;
terrestrial leech;
blood-feeding vector
- MeSH:
Animals;
Base Sequence;
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics;
Electron Transport Complex IV/*genetics;
Genetic Markers/genetics;
Leeches/*classification/*genetics;
Mitochondria/enzymology/genetics;
Phylogeny;
Polymerase Chain Reaction;
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/*genetics;
Republic of Korea;
Sequence Alignment;
Sequence Analysis, DNA
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2014;52(2):169-175
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
There are 60 species of blood-feeding land leeches, 50 species belonging to the family Haemadipsidae and 10 species belonging to the family Xerobdellidae. Despite recent papers on the land leeches, their taxonomic identification is not fully understood, especially at a species level. In Korea, there have been no historical records of the terrestrial leeches, but recently an unrecorded blood-feeding land leech was discovered at Gageo-do (Island), Korea. Molecular analysis was used to identify the species of 29 leeches collected from Mt. Dock-Sil in Gageo-do. Conventional PCR was conducted using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genetic marker. The 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the leeches share 99.9% identity with Haemadipsa rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan), and the CO1 sequences revealed that the leeches are very close to H. rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan). The CO1 sequences were separated into 2 categories, 1 with 94.6% and the other with 94.3% similarity to the H. rjukjuana L00115A (inhabiting Taiwan). This new finding of the land leech is the first record in Korea. In addition, the north range of the distribution of the blood-feeding leech (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipisidae) should be reconsidered including Korea.
