A deletion mutation of ~100 base pairs including part of the [[LSULS1 rRNA]] gene is found in the sequences of two African species - ''P. gonderi'' and an undescribed parasite taken from a mandrill - and 2 Asian species - ''P. cynomolgi'' and ''P. simiovale''.<ref name="Roy2008">Roy SW, Irimia M (2008) Origins of human malaria: rare genomic changes and full mitochondrial genomes confirm the relationship of ''Plasmodium falciparum'' to other mammalian parasites but complicate the origins of ''Plasmodium vivax''. Mol Biol Evol. 25(6):1192-1198.</ref> This ismutation awas not found in the other species examined (''[[Leucocytozoon caulleryi]]'', ''[[Leucocytozoon sabrazesi]]'', ''P. bergei'', ''P. chabaudi'', ''P. falciparum'', ''P. floridensi'', ''P. gallacium'', ''P. fragile'', ''P. juxtanucleare'', ''P. knowelsi'', ''P. mexicanum'', ''P. reichenowi'', ''P. relictum'', ''P. simiae'', ''P. vivax'', ''P. yoelii'' and two unnamed ''[[Haemoproteus]]'' species.) These mutations are rare eventevents and strongly suggests these species are related.
