Phylogenetic affinities of the <i>Neorickettsia</i> symbiont of <i>Fasciola hepatica</i>.

<p>(A) The genomes of the four fully sequenced <i>Neorickettsia</i> species were aligned. Syntenic blocks are colored. The genome of the <i>Neorickettsia</i> of <i>Fasciola hepatica</i> (PRJNA295290) shares almost complete synteny with the genomes of <i>Neorickettsia risticii</i> (PRJNA19099) and <i>Neorickettsia sennetsu</i> (PRJNA357), with the exception of a small inversion that is also present in <i>Neorickettsia helminthoeca</i> (PRJNA187358). (B) Bayesian inference phylogenetic analysis based on available 16S ribosomal RNA sequences of <i>Neorickettsia</i> species, retrieved from [<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006537#pgen.1006537.ref015" target="_blank">15</a>]. While the resolution of the sub-clade consisting of <i>Neorickettsia risticii</i> and <i>Neorickettsia</i> <i>sennetsu</i> is sub-optimal, the tree indicates that the <i>Neorickettsia</i> of <i>Fasciola hepatica</i> (<i>nFh</i>) may be most closely related to a strain that occurs in <i>Metagonimoides</i> species and an agent of Sennetsu fever. (C) A Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree based on the protein sequences of 473 single-copy, orthologous protein families conserved in the represented species clearly indicates that <i>nFh</i> is more closely related to <i>N</i>. <i>risticii</i> and <i>N</i>. <i>sennetsu</i> than <i>N</i>. <i>helminthoeca</i> or other species of the family Anaplasmataceae. NCBI GenBank accession numbers are indicated. Trematode hosts or other defining features are indicated for uncharacterized species.