1.Molecular identification of Kalicephalus isolated from snakes in Hunan province, subtropical China
Liu, W. ; Wang, T. ; Liu, X.S. ; Tan, L. ; Liu, Y. ; Liu, Y.S.
Tropical Biomedicine 2019;36(1):289-296
Parasite classification and identification are central to controlling parasitosis.
Traditional methods for identifying parasite species are based on morphological features, but
these are time-consuming and inaccurate, especially for cryptic species. The purpose of the
present study was to select molecular markers to promote the development of molecular
systematic for parasites. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA
(rDNA) falls in between 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rDNA sequences, including ITS-1 and ITS-2
sequences. Previous studies have demonstrated that rDNA ITS sequences provide useful
genetic markers for identifying parasitic nematodes. With the ultimate goal of controlling
parasite transmission, we identified Kalicephalus belonging to three species using ITS rDNA
genes. The ITS genes (750–797 bp) of 21 Kalicephalus belonging to 3 species were cloned
and sequenced. Intra- and interspecific identities were 98.4% and 80%–89%, respectively. The
phylogenetic tree reconstructed with the neighbour-joining (NJ) method revealed that congener
Kalicephalus form the same branch, which is far apart from other branches of other nematodes.
This is consistent with morphological classifications, demonstrating the accuracy of our
molecular method. This is the first report stating that ITS genes can be used to classify
Kalicephalus, and it lays the foundation for identification, molecular epidemiology, and
phylogenetics of Kalicephalus and related parasitic nematodes.