IDENTIFYING CRYPTIC SPECIES OF ECHINOSTOMA SPP. IN MUSKRATS USING MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES ByChristopher L. Kline.

Abstract:

The echinostomes represent an ecologically important but understudied group of
parasites that have become largely characterized by the presence of a cryptic species
complex. In the present study, we attempted to elucidate a cryptic species complex within
the species E. trivolvis, a known parasite of muskrats. A total of twenty-seven muskrats
were necropsied, yielding 233 isolates of E. trvivolvis. We successfully amplified
ITS1/ITS2 marker of XX isolates and the ND1/ND3 gene of XX isolates. Phylogenetic
relationships were analyzed based on single strand ITS marker from 34 sequences and
partial ND1 gene from 13 sequences, as inferred from a maximum likelihood model. Our
preliminary data suggests that using adult worms we may have found cryptic lineages
proposed in previous research using cercariae. Further sequencing and statistical analysis
will help shed more light on the insights gleaned from this data.