Use of rDNA polymorphism for identification of Heterophyidae infecting freshwater fishes

R. Dzikowski*, M. G. Levy, M. F. Poore, J. R. Flowers, I. Paperna

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

Infections by trematodes are among the most common fish-borne zoonoses. Metacercariae of the Family Heterophyidae in marine and freshwater fishes are nonfastidious in their choice of definitive hosts, and therefore, cause infections in human and domestic animals. In the present study, species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were developed for identifying and differentiating the various species examined. Sequencing and aligning the 18S (SSU) rDNA revealed interspecific variation for which species-specific DNA oligonucleotides were designed and used for the identification of 6 heterophyid species recovered from piscivorous birds. The oligonucleotides were further used to evaluate the various stages (cercariae recovered from snails, metacercariae recovered from fish and adult trematodes) of the digeneans. By applying this method we elucidated for the first time the life cycle of Pygidiopsis genata. The phylogenetic interrelationship among the newly sequenced species of Heterophyidae is outlined.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)35-41
Number of pages7
JournalDiseases of Aquatic Organisms
Volume59
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 21 Apr 2004

Keywords

  • 18S rDNA gene
  • Birds
  • Digenea
  • Fish
  • Heterophyidae
  • SSU

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