Phylogenetic relationships of Australian strongyloid nematodes inferred from ribosomal DNA sequence data

The sequence of the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA was determined for the following strongyloid nematodes: Cylicocyclus insignis, Chabertia ovina, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Cloacina communis, Cloacina hydriformis, Labiostrongylus labiostrongylus, Parazoniolaimus collaris, Macropostrongylus macropostrongylus, Macropostrongylus yorkei, Rugopharynx australis, Rugopharynx rosemariae, Macropostrongyloides baylisi, Oesophagostomoides longispicularis and Paramacropostrongylus toraliformis, and compared with published sequences for species of Strongylus and for Hypodontus macropi. The resultant phylogenetic trees supported current hypotheses based on morphological evidence for the separation of the families Strongylidae and Chabertiidae, but did not support the separation of the endemic Australian genera as a distinctive clade within the Chabertiidae. The implications of this finding for the phylogenetic origins of the Australian strongyloids are discussed.