GENOTYPING FASCIOLA HEPATICA BY ITS1 AND RAPDS SUGGESTS DISTINCTIVE SOUTH AMERICAN GENETIC DIVERSITY AND HOST AFFINITY

SCARCELLA S.; BIANCO F.; MERA Y SIERRA R.; NEIRA G.; SOLANA MV.; SOLANA H.; MIRANDA-MIRANDA E.

Congreso; XXI Reunion anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Protozoologia; 2019

The commonliver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) is a majorcause of economic losses to agriculture all over the world, with cost estimatedat US$ 2000 million per annum,Given thatthe existence of genetically different populations of F. hepatica could allow, against any selection pressure, natural orartificial (for use fasciolicides products and/or control measures), one ormore populations of F. hepatica to beable to survive and create resistance or adaptability to such selective pressure.It?s important to characterize the different isolation of the liver fluke. The aim of the present work was to characterizegenetically adult F. hepaticaisolates from cattle, pigs, buffaloes and donkeys from different regions ofSouth American, using sequence analysis of ribosomal ITS1 and RAPD-PCR. Genotyping of Fasciola hepatica DNA samplesderived from, cattle, pig, buffalo, and donkey collected from different regionsof South America, were performed using the F.hepatica Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequencing, as well asRAPDs-PCR. Phylogeny assessment derived from multiple sequence alignment (MSA)of ITS sequences, exhibit a distinctive South American geographical patterncompared against F. hepatica reported ITS sequences from around the world, MSAanalysis of ITS sequences also showed the F.hepatica ITS haplotypes found in south America are consistent with otherreported ITS haplotypes. Further phylogenetic assessment of the electrophoresisband pattern of RAPDs-PCR amplicons, suggest the parasite?s genome containsmarkers that may reveal a host preference. Further assessment revealed twomajor F. hepatica groups within theSouth American isolates that clearly diverged from each other, one containingparasites obtained from swine and donkeys and other found in bovid with twoadditional branch subdivisions of the latter group one containingwater-buffalos and a second containing only cattle.