2026/07/01 by Hong-Ru Xu, Yu Zhang, Y ZHANG +2
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Nematode management and characterization studies #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
paper · doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlag105
Abstract The Travassosinematidae is a family of invertebrate-parasitic nematodes and represents a key group to gain a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships within the Clade III sensu Blaxter et al. (1998) in Nematoda. In this study, four Travassosinema species, including two new species, T. giganteum sp. nov. and T. sinense sp. nov., are described from millipedes in China using integrated methods. A revised key to species of Travassosinema is presented. This study represents the first record of Travassosinema and Travassosinematidae in China. The complete mitochondrial genomes of T. giganteum sp. nov. and T. sinense sp. nov. are sequenced and annotated. Comparative mitogenomics revealed frequent gene translocations and a novel gene arrangement in the two new species, representing a new type within Nematoda. Phylogenetic analyses of the Clade III nematodes based on the concatenated datasets of the amino acid sequences of 12 mitochondrial protein coding genes and the nucleotide sequences of 18S + 28S + 12 mitochondrial protein coding genes, suggest the evolutionary relationships within the Clade III sensu Blaxter et al. (1998) as Rhigonematida + (Oxyurida + Spirurida ex. Gnathostomatoidea). Phylogenetic results also support the division of Oxyurida into two monophyletic superfamilies, Oxyuroidea and Thelastomatoidea, and further confirm that the order Ascaridida is polyphyletic.