Journal Article

Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola hybrid form co-existence in yak from Tibet of China: application of rDNA internal transcribed spacer

Tang, Wenqiang, Li, Kai, Zhou, Yule, Huang, Fuqiang, Zhao, Xialing, Li, Leyi, Kui, Jun, Shi, Bin, Chui, Wenting

2024

Overview

Fasciolosis is a parasitic disease affecting humans and livestock, caused by digenean trematodes of the genus Fasciola , primarily F. hepatica and F. gigantica . This study investigates the coexistence of these species and their hybrids in yaks from Tibet, China. We analyzed the nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, including ITS1 and ITS2, through Sanger sequencing and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to assess single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Our results reveal that one specimen (NM008B) is identical to pure F. hepatica , while another (NM008A) contains genetic information from both F. hepatica and F. gigantica , indicating potential hybridization or introgression. The morphological analysis reveals that the collected adult F. hepatica specimens exhibit distinct characteristics, while the hybrid specimens display “intermediate” features of F. hepatica and F. gigantica . This study is the first to document the coexistence of F. hepatica and hybrid Fasciola forms in a single yak. The findings underscore the complexities of hybridization dynamics and the necessity for advanced molecular techniques in accurately identifying Fasciola species. Future research should focus on mitochondrial DNA and other nuclear gene analysis to further elucidate the nature of these hybrids and their ecological implications.

• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: adults / Animals / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Brief Report / Cattle / Cattle Diseases - epidemiology / Cattle Diseases - parasitology / Causes of / China / Coexistence / DNA sequencing / DNA, Helminth - genetics / DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - genetics / Fasciola / Fasciola - classification / Fasciola - genetics / Fasciola - isolation & purification / Fasciola hepatica / Fasciola hepatica - classification / Fasciola hepatica - genetics / Fasciola hepatica - isolation & purification / fascioliasis / Fascioliasis - epidemiology / Fascioliasis - parasitology / Fascioliasis - veterinary / genes / genus / Haplotypes / High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Hybridization, Genetic / Hybrids / Immunology / internal transcribed spacers / Interspecific hybridization / introgression / Livestock / Medical Microbiology / Methods / Microbiology / Mitochondrial DNA / Mutation / Next-generation sequencing / Nucleotide sequencing / Parasitic diseases / Physiological aspects / Polymorphism / Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Ribosomal DNA / Sequence Analysis, DNA / Single nucleotide polymorphisms / Single-nucleotide polymorphism / species / Tibet / Yaks