Allozyme markers suitable for population genetic analysis of Fasciola hepatica

Evidence of population structuring following population genetic analyses of Fasciola hepatica from Argentina

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320 Argentinian Fasciola hepatica were genotyped using a panel of microsatellites.

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Overall there was high genotypic richness: 263 distinct genotypes were identified.

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Population structuring of F. hepatica was evident across Argentina.

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Within these sub-populations there is largely random mating.

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Transmission of clonemates occurs: clonal parasites accounted for 26.6% of all parasites.

Fasciola hepatica, the liver fluke, is a trematode parasite that causes disease of economic importance in livestock. As a zoonosis this parasite also poses a risk to human health in areas where it is endemic. Population genetic studies can reveal the mechanisms responsible for genetic structuring (non-panmixia) within parasite populations and provide valuable insights into population dynamics, which in turn enables theoretical predictions of evolutionary dynamics such as the evolution of drug resistance. Here we genotyped 320 F. hepatica collected from 14 definitive hosts from four provinces in Argentina. STRUCTURE analysis indicated three population clusters, and principal coordinate analysis confirmed this, showing population clustering across provinces. Similarly, pairwise F_ST values amongst all four provinces were significant, with standardised pairwise F_ST (F′_ST) ranging from 0.0754 to 0.6327. Therefore, population genetic structure was evident across these four provinces in Argentina. However, there was no evidence of deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, so it appears that within these sub-populations there is largely random mating. We identified 263 unique genotypes, which gave a clonal diversity of 82%. Parasites with identical genotypes, clones, accounted for 26.6% of the parasites studied and were found in 12 of the 14 hosts studied, suggesting some clonemate transmission.

Fasciola hepatica demonstrates high levels of genetic diversity, a lack of population structure and high gene flow: possible implications for drug resistance

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Self-fertilisation does occur but is rare in field populations of Fasciola hepatica.

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Some hosts harboured genotypically identical parasites (clones).

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The presence of clones is consistent with clonal expansion and clumped transmission.

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84% of 1579 F. hepatica had unique genotypes, indicating high genetic diversity.

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We found high gene flow, no population structure and low self-fertilisation rate.

Fasciola hepatica, the liver fluke, is a trematode parasite of considerable economic importance to the livestock industry and is a re-emerging zoonosis that poses a risk to human health in F. hepatica-endemic areas worldwide. Drug resistance is a substantial threat to the current and future control of F. hepatica, yet little is known about how the biology of the parasite influences the development and spread of resistance. Given that F. hepatica can self-fertilise and therefore inbreed, there is the potential for greater population differentiation and an increased likelihood of recessive alleles, such as drug resistance genes, coming together. This could be compounded by clonal expansion within the snail intermediate host and aggregation of parasites of the same genotype on pasture. Alternatively, widespread movement of animals that typically occurs in the UK could promote high levels of gene flow and prevent population differentiation. We identified clonal parasites with identical multilocus genotypes in 61% of hosts. Despite this, 84% of 1579 adult parasites had unique multilocus genotypes, which supports high levels of genotypic diversity within F. hepatica populations. Our analyses indicate a selfing rate no greater than 2%, suggesting that this diversity is in part due to the propensity for F. hepatica to cross-fertilise. Finally, although we identified high genetic diversity within a given host, there was little evidence for differentiation between populations from different hosts, indicating a single panmictic population. This implies that, once those emerge, anthelmintic resistance genes have the potential to spread rapidly through liver fluke populations.

Comparison of Fasciola hepatica genotypes in relation to their ability to establish patent infections in the final host

Fasciola hepatica is a common and economically important parasite of sheep and cattle. Although its marked genetic heterogeneity is well recognised, an association between haplotypes and specific phenotypic traits has yet to be identified. Using experimental infections in cattle this study investigated whether a fragment of mitochondrial DNA (coding for cytochrome c oxidase subunit III, transfer RNA histidine and cytochrome b) and 3 nuclear microsatellite loci (Fh15, Fh23 and Fh25) could be used as markers for the parasite's ability to complete its tissue migration and establish in the liver of the final host. While we did not detect any shift in the frequency of the various genotypes in the population of metacercariae used for the infection on the one hand and the flukes collected from the liver on the other, there was an indication that parasites with heterozygous microsatellite alleles may have a selective advantage over homozygote parasites during their migration in the final host.

Analysis of genetic variability of Fasciola hepatica populations from different geographical locations by ISSR-PCR

Inter-simple sequence repeats markers were used to determinate the genetic variability of Fasciola hepatica populations recovered from sheep and cattle from Spain (Sp1, Sp2, Sp3 and Sp4), UK (Eng), Ireland (Ir) and Mexico (Mex). Twenty five primers were tested but only five produced 39 reproducible bands, being 71.79% polymorphic bands. This percentage ranged from 10.26% in Sp4 to 48.72% in Sp1, and per host between 28.21 and 48.72% in sheep and between 10.26 and 38.46% in cattle. This relatively low range of genetic diversity within populations, with a mean of 34.40%, implies that a large proportion of variation resided among populations. The population differentiation (Gst = 0.547) indicated that 54.7% of variation is due to differences between populations and 45.3% due to differences within population. The Nei's distance ranged between 0.091 and 0.230 in sheep and between 0.150 and 0.337 in cattle. The genetic relationships between populations and individuals were shown by a UPGMA dendrogram and a principal coordinate analysis; both grouped all populations separately from Sp4, a population of from the Midwest of Spain with the lowest level of diversity. Small genetic distances were observed between Eng and Ir, on the one hand, and Sp1, Sp2, Sp3, from the Northwest of Spain, together with Mex, on the other.

The global burden of fasciolosis in domestic animals with an outlook on the contribution of new approaches for diagnosis and control

Fasciolosis is an economically important disease for livestock, as well as being zoonotic. Recent figures on the prevalence of this disease have caused alarm concerning its potential for an increased prevalence in the future. The prevalence of fascioliosis has been documented from different regions of the world, helping us identify areas where future research needs to be focused. This manuscript is a review of the current status of the disease, the pathogenic species involved, diagnostic techniques (with new modifications and comparative specificity, sensitivity, and rapidity of these tests), chemotherapy, and vaccination. This also encompasses inaccurate reports on vaccination and drug development as well as the latest technologies to find promising candidates for drugs and vaccines. Drugs with lower efficacy have been used on some farms which lead to exacerbation of the clinical disease, presumably due to the development of drug resistance. Future studies should be focused on (1) the use of the most reliable diagnostic tests for periodic monitoring of the disease, (2) insights of the ecobiology and transmission dynamics of the snail intermediate host and the best possible methods of their control, (3) in vitro and in vivo testing of chemotherapeutic compounds using sensitive methods, and (4) the identification of novel drug and vaccine candidates using modern molecular markers. This approach may help increase the reliability of chemotherapeutic agents and control nuisance, ultimately reducing the economic losses attributable to the livestock industry around the world.

Identification of putative markers of triclabendazole resistance by a genome-wide analysis of genetically recombinant Fasciola hepatica

Despite years of investigation into triclabendazole (TCBZ) resistance in Fasciola hepatica, the genetic mechanisms responsible remain unknown. Extensive analysis of multiple triclabendazole-susceptible and -resistant isolates using a combination of experimental in vivo and in vitro approaches has been carried out, yet few, if any, genes have been demonstrated experimentally to be associated with resistance phenotypes in the field. In this review we summarize the current understanding of TCBZ resistance from the approaches employed to date. We report the current genomic and genetic resources for F. hepatica that are available to facilitate novel functional genomics and genetic experiments for this parasite in the future. Finally, we describe our own non-biased approach to mapping the major genetic loci involved in conferring TCBZ resistance in F. hepatica.

Update on trematode infections in sheep

Trematode parasites live in the liver, fore stomachs or blood vessels of a wide range of animals and humans. Most of them have a special economic and veterinary significance. Liver fluke disease of sheep and other animal species is caused by the common liver fluke Fasciola hepatica. Hepatic fasciolosis occurs throughout the world, where climatic conditions are suitable for the survival of aquatic intermediate host snails. Also of importance for ruminants, in some parts of the world, are Fasciola gigantica and Fascioloides magna. Other trematodes infecting ruminants include Dicrocoelium dendriticum; Eurytrema pancreaticum and Eurytrema coelomaticum. Among the Paramphistomidae, some species can infect sheep and other ruminants. Finally, Schistosoma spp. are found in the blood vessels of ruminants and are of minor importance in temperate regions. The manuscript concentrates on trematode species of veterinary importance for domestic sheep.

Contrasting patterns of population genetic structure of Fasciola hepatica from cattle and sheep: implications for the evolution of anthelmintic resistance

Twelve polymorphic genetic markers, eight allozymic loci and four microsatellites, were used to characterize 20 infrapopulations of Fasciola hepatica (all flukes from 10 individual cattle and 10 sheep) from 11 farms in Northwest Spain. Results suggest different patterns of population genetic structure depending on the host species. Individuals identified as clones were much more frequent in sheep. The common presence of clones and its nonrandom occurrence among individual hosts suggests clumped transmission of liver flukes in sheep. After reducing significant repeated multilocus genotypes to one unique copy within infrapopulations, results show relatively high levels of gene diversity within infrapopulations from cattle and sheep (0.411 and 0.360 on average, respectively). However, parasites of sheep appear to show significantly more structured variation at the infrapopulation level (Standardized F(ST)=0.087 and 0.170 for parasites of cattle and sheep, respectively). Compared to the parasites from cattle, results suggest that populations from sheep show lower levels of gene flow, higher degree of aggregate transmission, higher probability of mating within clones, and lower parasitic load. These differences have implications for the evolution of anthelmintic resistance because they affect the effective population size and the degree of inbreeding. The development and rapid spread of resistance seems likely in the parasites of cattle because populations from the study area are characterized by high gene flow. However, results also suggest that the efficient selection of a new recessive advantageous mutation would be favored in parasites of sheep due to a greater potential for inbreeding.

Microsatellite analysis of Fasciola spp. in Egypt

Recently, the topic of diversity in Fasciola population in Egypt is controversial. The present study was performed to study the genetic diversity of isolated flukes based on microsatellites markers. Fasciola worms were collected from different hosts and geographical locations in Egypt. Control samples of Fasciola hepatica from France as well as Fasciola gigantica from Cameroon were included in the study. Collected flukes were identified morphologically and subjected for analysis using four microsatellite markers. Results of microsatellite profile (FM1 and FM2) proved that both species of Fasciola are distributed in Egypt irrespective of geographical location and host. Nevertheless, the microsatellite profile of some analyzed loci (FM2 and FM3) proved that Egyptian flukes showed more alleles compared to the reference ones. Differences of microsatellite profile in Egyptian isolates than that of corresponding reference samples indicate the remarkable diversity of these isolates. The present results highlighted the utility of microsatellite profile to discriminate between Fasciola species and to elucidate the diversity within the species. To our knowledge, this is the first time to study microsatellite polymorphism in Fasciola populations in Egypt.