Origin and evolution of Schistosoma japonicum

In his hypothesis on the coevolution of Asian schistosomes and snails, Davis implies that the ancestors of the Schistosoma japonicum and S. indicum species group were African and arrived in Asia via the Indian plate. This paper briefly reviews molecular phylogenetic relationships among species of the genus Schistosoma to test Davis' theory about the origin and evolution of S. japonicum. All analyses using DNA base sequences, mitochondrial genome gene order and C-banding patterns suggest that Schistosoma originated in Asia and not Africa. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.