6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126a4fa

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Molecular and morphological evidence for three species of Diplostomum (Digenea: Diplostomidae), parasites of fishes and fish-eating birds in Spain

Simona GeorgievaSimona GeorgievaHéctor J PulaAneta KostadinovaAna Pérez-del-olmo

subject

MaleLens metacercariaeEntomologyRange (biology)Molecular Sequence DataZoologyDiplostomum pseudospathaceumDigeneaBirdsFish DiseasesSensuAnimalsITS1-5.8S-ITS2CladePhylogenyFreshwater fishbiologyBird DiseasesEcologyResearchFishesSpecies diversityDiplostomum spathaceumCestode Infectionsbiology.organism_classificationGullsInfectious DiseasesPlatyhelminthsSpainFreshwater fishFemaleParasitologySpecies richnessCox1

description

Background Recent molecular studies have revealed high species diversity of Diplostomum in central and northern Europe. However, our knowledge of the distribution of Diplostomum spp. in the southern distributional range in Europe of the snail intermediate hosts (Lymnaea stagnalis and Radix spp.) is rather limited. This study aims to fill this gap in our knowledge using molecular and morphological evidence. Methods Nineteen fish species and six fish-eating bird species were sampled opportunistically in three regions (Catalonia, Extremadura and Aragon) in Spain. All isolates of Diplostomum spp. were characterised morphologically and molecularly. Partial sequences of the barcode region of the cox1 mitochondrial gene and complete sequences of the ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 gene cluster were used for molecular identification of the isolates. Results Integrated morphological and molecular analyses demonstrated the presence of three species among the larval and adult isolates of Diplostomum spp. sampled in Spain: Diplostomum spathaceum (in fish and birds), D. pseudospathaceum (in birds) and Diplostomum sp. (in fish) referred to as Clade Q sensu Georgieva et al. (Int J Parasitol, 43:57–72, 2013). We detected ten cox1 haplotypes among the isolates of D. spathaceum with only one haplotype shared with adult isolates from central and northern Europe. No specific geographic pattern of the distribution of the novel haplotypes was found. Conclusion This first molecular exploration of the diversity of Diplostomum spp. in southern Europe indicates much lower species richness compared with the northern regions of Europe.

10.1186/s13071-014-0502-xhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-014-0502-x