Molecular genetic species definition of Opisthorchiidae-like cercariae from Bithyniidae snails of Chany Lake (South-Western Siberia, Russia)

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 122; no. 1; pp. 341 - 345
• Main Authors: Katokhin, Aleksei V., Serbina, Elena A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Birds; Bithynia; Bithyniidae; Brief Report; Cercaria; Cercaria - genetics; Epidemiology; Gastropoda; Immunology; Lakes; Medical Microbiology; Metorchis; Microbiology; Molecular Biology; Mollusks; Morphology; Opisthorchiasis - veterinary; Opisthorchis - genetics; Russia; Siberia; Snails; Trematoda; Trematode Infections - veterinary; Siberia; Russia; Opisthorchiosis (opisthorchiasis); Opisthorchis felineus; Bithynia tentaculata; Bithynia troschelii; Metorchis bilis
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07725-y

The studies of opisthorchiids larval stages associated with Bithyniidae snails can provide important and the most reliable data for opisthorchiidoses foci characterization due to the low mobility of such opisthorchiid’s host species as Bithyniidae snails. The foci of opisthorchiosis (caused by
Opisthorchis felineus
) and metorchiosis (caused by
Metorchis bilis
) are overlapping in the basins of the Ob and Irtysh Rivers. Thus, difficulties with determining the species of cercariae significantly reduce the accuracy of epidemiological conclusions regarding opisthorchiosis, which has a much higher medical significance. Moreover,
M. bilis
cercariae identification is complicated by the fact that the focus of metorchiosis caused by
Metorchis xanthosomus
(infecting fish-eating predatory birds) occurs on the same territory. In this study, we for the first time carried out the molecular genetic identification of West-Siberian opisthorchiid cercariae to verify morphological identification and confirmed
O. felineus
’s main association with
Bithynia troschelii
snail and
M. bilis
’—with
B. tentaculata
snail. Thus, our study applied a two-stage approach: the morphological identification of any opisthorchiid-like cercariae in Bithynia snails and subsequent molecular genetic precise species determination of cercariae in the reduced samples.