Secondary structure and phylogenetic utility of the ribosomal large subunit (28S) in monogeneans of the genus Thaparocleidus and Bifurcohaptor (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae)

Present communication deals with secondary structure of 28S rDNA of two already known species of monogeneans viz., Bifurcohaptor indicus and Thaparocleidus parvulus parasitizing gill filaments of a freshwater fish, Mystus vittatus for phylogenetic inference. Secondary structure data are best used as accessory taxonomic characters as their phylogenetic resolving power and confidence in validity. Secondary structure of the 28S rDNA transcript could provide information for identifying homologous nucleotide characters, useful for cladistic inference of relationships. Such structure data could be used as taxonomic character. The study supports that species-level sequence variability renders 28S sequence as a unique window for examining the behavior of fast evolving, non-coding DNA sequences. Apart from this it also confirms that molecular similarity present in various species could be host-induced.