Fig. 5

The UPDx amplicon differentiates several taxa of clinically important parasites. Clustering of sequences generated for a range of parasites (Table 2) demonstrates that the UPDx amplicon can differentiate some taxa to the species level, but not all. This segment of the 18S rDNA gene differentiates the most important Plasmodium species that infect humans but does not differentiate most Leishmania species that infect humans. It does not differentiate subspecies of T. brucei from some trypanosomes of veterinary importance, such as T. evansi and T. equiperdum, but it clearly differentiates T. cruzi. Filarial nematodes of the family Onchocercidae are differentiated beyond the family level, but not to the genus level. Babesia species commonly infecting humans are divided into three sequence types based on the haplotypes detected: one for Babesia microti, another for Babesia duncani, and a third type that includes Babesia divergens and the B. divergens-like MO1 type. Sequences generated in this study are shaded blue and include the haplotypes detected in clinical specimens 1 to 18 listed in Table 2