Molecular and morphological characterization of Isthmiophora melis (Schrank, 1788) Luhe, 1909 (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) from American mink (Neovison vison) and European polecat (Mustela putorius) in Lithuania

Abstract

SummaryThe specimens collected from American mink (Neovison vison) and European polecat (Mustela putorius) in Lithuania were morphologically identifi ed as Isthmiophora melis (Schrank, 1788) Lühe, 1909 and were molecularly characterized through sequencing of partial 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region, and ND1. Relations of I. melis to other species of the genus Isthmiophora Lühe 1909 were discussed. According to ITS1 and ND1 sequences the closest species to I. melis is Isthmiophora hortensis (Asada, 1926).

Echinostoma chankensis nom. nov., other Echinostoma spp. and Isthmiophora hortensis in East Asia: morphology, molecular data and phylogeny within Echinostomatidae

“…S4) was not used for analysis due to the low level of species separation in Echinostomatidae, which was also previously shown by Morgan and Blair (1995), Nugaraite et al . (2017) and Mohanta et al . (2019).…”

“…Among the trematodes from geographically distant territories, the populations of which are isolated from each other, there are species that exhibit significant morphological similarities, both in adult and other developmental stages. As a result, many species of trematodes are considered cosmopolitan (Detwiler et al ., 2010; Morley et al ., 2010; Nugaraite et al ., 2017). The group of such worms includes some members of Echinostomatidae Looss, 1899.…”

Trematode diversity reflecting the community structure of Danish freshwater systems: molecular clues

“…Lakes where prevalence was zero are indicated by a minus (−). Intermediate and definitive hosts are provided based on published data from literature [6,[87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]. *small sample size.…”

Evidence of predation pressure on sensitive species by raccoons based on parasitological studies

“…PCR amplification and sequencing followed the methods outlined by Peter et al (2023) . Primers and thermocycler settings for the PCR reactions were systematically selected based on food groups and parasitic organisms, and carried out following modified established protocols ( Table 1 ) ( Folmer et al, 1994 ; Tkach et al, 2003 ; Hebert et al, 2004 ; Jones et al, 2008 ; Pun et al, 2009 ; Laurimaa et al, 2016 ; Nugaraitė et al, 2017 ). The sequenced data of the genetically analyzed samples were uploaded to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) and are available under the accession numbers given in Table 1 .…”