Identification of a Babesia bovis gene with homology to the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene from the 35-kilobase circular DNA of Plasmodium falciparum.

Isolation of a 552-base pair (bp) fragment of a putative extrachromosomal small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSrRNA) gene from Babesia bovis was achieved using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by cloning and sequencing of the PCR product. The sequences of the oligonucleotide primers used for the PCR were derived from selected known sequences in the organellar SSrRNA gene which is encoded within the 35-kilobase (kb) circular DNA from Plasmodium falciparum. Comparison of the sequence of the 552-bp fragment from B. bovis with gene sequences from other organisms showed 71% identity with the organellar SSrRNA gene from P. falciparum and up to 65% identity with the plastid SSrRNA gene sequences from various other organisms. We conclude that the 552-bp fragment amplified by PCR from B. bovis is possibly derived from an organellar genome of this parasite.