Origins, phylogenetic relationships and host-parasite interactions of Troglotrematoidea since the cretaceous

• Published in: Infection, genetics and evolution Vol. 101; p. 105274
• Main Authors: Vainutis, Konstantin S., Voronova, Anastasia N., Duscher, Georg G., Shchelkanov, Egor M., Shchelkanov, Mikhail Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-07-2022
• Subjects: 28S rRNA gene; Divergence times; Phylogeny; Trematoda; Troglotrema acutum; Troglotrematidae; Troglotrema acutum; Troglotrematidae; Divergence times; 28S rRNA gene; Phylogeny; Trematoda
• ISSN: 1567-1348; 1567-7257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105274

In the current study, we raise the issue concerning origins and historical relationships of the trematodes from the families Troglotrematidae and Paragonimidae using phylogenetic analysis and molecular-clock method for estimating evolutionary rates. For the first time we provided 28S rRNA gene fragment (1764 bp) for the type species Troglotrema acutum - zoonotic trematodes that cause cranial lesions (troglotremiasis) in mustelid and canid mammals of the Central Europe, Iberian Peninsula, and North-West Caucasus. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that T. acutum belongs to the monophyletic family Troglotrematidae sister with the family Paragonimidae. The family Troglotrematidae includes five genera: Nanophyetus, Troglotrema, Skrjabinophyetus, Nephrotrema, and Macroorchis; and the family Paragonimidae is monotypic including the only genus Paragonimus. We recover the superfamily Troglotrematoidea for these two families. Divergence of the common ancestor of the superfamily Troglotrematoidea (common troglotrematoid ancestor) likely occurred during the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era and potentially originated in the Asiatic region. The lineage of the family Troglotrematidae is much closer to the common troglotrematoid ancestor than the species of the family Paragonimidae. The radiation time of the common troglotrematoid ancestor (126 Ma, the Early Cretaceous), and formation of the families Troglotrematidae and Paragonimidae (96 Ma and 73 Ma respectively, the Late Cretaceous) corresponds to the time of settling in East Asia by many species of mammaliaforms (about 130–70 Ma).
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•New data on 28S rRNA gene confirmed affiliation of Troglotrema acutum to the family Troglotrematidae.•The families Troglotrematidae and Paragonimidae are monophyletic in the superfamily Troglotrematoidea.•The common troglotrematoid ancestor could originate in the Asiatic region in Lower Cretaceous period.•Paragonimid species took niches of mammals later than troglotrematids in Upper Cretaceous.•The 28S domains (D1-D4) showed well resolution at level of families and between genera but not at the interspecific level.