Extant interspecific hybridization among trematodes within the < i > Schistosoma haematobium < /i > species complex in Nigeria

by Oluwaremilekun G. Ajakaye, Elisha E. Enabulele, Joshua B. Balogun, Oyetunde T. Oyeyemi, Michael E. Grigg BackgroundNatural interspecific hybridization between the human parasite (Schistosoma haematobium [Sh]) and bovine parasites (Schistosoma bovis [Sb],Schistosoma curassoni [Sc]) is increasingly reported in Africa. We developed a multi-locus PCR DNA-Seq strategy that amplifies two unlinked nuclear (transITS,BF) and two linked organellar genome markers (CO1,ND5) to genotypeS.haematobium eggs collected from infected people in Ile Oluji/Oke Igbo, Ondo State (an agrarian community) and Kachi, Jigawa State (a pastoral community) in Southwestern and Northern Nigeria, respectively. Principal findingsOut of a total of 219 urine samples collected, 57 were positive for schistosomes. All patients from Jigawa state possessed anSh mitochondrial genome and were infected with a genetic profile consistent with anSh x Sb hybrid based on sequences obtained atCO1,ND5, transITS andBF nuclear markers. Whereas samples collected from Ondo state were more varied. Mitonuclear discordance was observed in all 17 patients, worms possessed anSb mitochondrial genome but one of four different genetic profiles at the nuclear markers, either admixed (heterozygous betweenSh x Sc orSh x Sb) at both markers (n = 10),Sh atBF and admixed at transITS (Sh x Sc) (n = 5), admixed (Sh x Sc) atBF and homozygousSc at transITS (n = 1) or homozygousSh atBF and homozygousSc at transITS (n = 1). SignificancePrevious wor...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research