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Evidence for multiple mitochondrial lineages of Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke) within infrapopulations from cattle and sheep

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Abstract

The economic, veterinary, and medical impact of the parasite Fasciola hepatica, liver fluke, is difficult to alleviate due to increasing incidences of resistance to the principal anthelmintic drugs. These have occurred in widely separated regions. The rate of response to selection imposed by such drugs will be dependent on the genetic variation present in the F. hepatica gene pool, but this is at present unknown. We have assessed the genetic diversity of mitochondrial haplotypes found in the infrapopulation of flukes recovered from a calf of known provenance and from six other cattle and sheep hosts located in Ireland and four from elsewhere. Our results revealed that at least ten different mitochondrial composite PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism haplotypes had been acquired by a single animal in 1 year, and there was comparable diversity in six other definitive hosts carrying field-acquired infections. The extent of divergence between these fluke lineages suggests that they predate the last ice age and, thus, cannot have developed in Northern Europe. A consequence of this high level of diversity is that there will be frequent selection for anthelmintic resistance and rapid responses to climatic changes.

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland). S.M.W. was supported by a postgraduate studentship from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland). V.K was supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship. We would like to thank Dr R. Hynes for the laboratory support. All experiments described in this study comply with the current laws of the United Kingdom and European Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, The Queen’s University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, Ireland

    S. M. Walker, P. A. Prodöhl, H. L. Fletcher, E. M. Hoey & A. Trudgett

  2. Veterinary Sciences Division, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Stoney Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ireland

    R. E. B. Hanna

  3. Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    V. Kantzoura

Authors
  1. S. M. Walker
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  2. P. A. Prodöhl
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  3. H. L. Fletcher
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  4. R. E. B. Hanna
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  5. V. Kantzoura
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  6. E. M. Hoey
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  7. A. Trudgett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Trudgett.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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ESM Table 1

Mitochondrial DNA primer sequences, MgCl2 and Tm for specific primer sets, products size details, and restriction enzymes used to screen the Fasciola hepatica mitochondrial genome (DOC 31 kb)

ESM Table 2

Restriction profiles for the Fasciola hepatica QUB FhmtDNACOX3/ND4, QUB FhmtDNAATP6/ND1, and QUB FhmtDNACOX1/l–rRNA mtDNA regions. Sizes in base pairs (bp) of restriction morphs are shown. The bold values indicate fragments not actually observed but deduced on the basis of the loss of a fragment in relation to the sum of the sizes of the observed fragments of a given morph. (1) QUB FhmtDNACOX3/ND4 restriction morphs, (2) QUB FhmtDNAATP6/ND1 restriction morphs, (3) QUB FhmtDNACOX1/l–rRNA restriction morphs (DOC 98 kb)

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Walker, S.M., Prodöhl, P.A., Fletcher, H.L. et al. Evidence for multiple mitochondrial lineages of Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke) within infrapopulations from cattle and sheep. Parasitol Res 101, 117–125 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0440-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0440-4

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