Mitochondrial genome of Theileria uilenbergi endemic in sheep and goats in China

Mitochondrial genomes provide new insights that help elucidating biological features, genetic evolution, and classification of protozoans. Theileria uilenbergi ( T . uilenbergi ), transmitted by Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis and H . longicornis , is considered as highly pathogenic to sheep and goats in China. This study reports and outlines features of its mitochondrial genome. The T . uilenbergi mitochondrial genome is a linear monomeric molecule of 6.0 kb length, which encodes three protein-coding genes named cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1), cytochrome b (cob), and cytochrome c oxidase III (cox3), as well as six large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene fragments, and ends in terminal inverted repeats (TIRs). The array structure and organization of the mitochondrial genome of T . uilenbergi is identical to that of T . parva . Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of cox1, cob, and cox3 genes suggests that T . uilenbergi is distantly related to the group of transforming Theileria species such as T . parva . This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of the mitochondrial genome of piroplasms and provides useful information of diagnostic marker for T . uilenbergi .