Molecular characterization of Fasciola gigantica from Mauritania based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences.

Fasciolosis caused by Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea) is considered the most important helminth infection of ruminants in tropical countries, causing considerable socioeconomic problems. From Africa, F. gigantica has been previously characterized from Burkina Faso, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia and Mali, while F. hepatica has been reported from Morocco and Tunisia, and both species have been observed from Ethiopia and Egypt on the basis of morphometric differences, while the use of molecular markers is necessary to distinguish exactly between species. Samples identified morphologically as F. gigantica (n=60) from sheep and cattle from different geographical localities of Mauritania were genetically characterized by sequences of the first (ITS-1), the 5.8S, and second (ITS-2) Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) genes and the mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase I (COI) gene. Comparison of the sequences of the Mauritanian samples with sequences of Fasciola spp. from GenBank confirmed that all samples belong to the species F. gigantica. The nucleotide sequencing of ITS rDNA of F. gigantica showed no nucleotide variation in the ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 rDNA sequences among all samples examined and those from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Egypt and Iran. The phylogenetic trees based on the ITS-1 and ITS-2 sequences showed a close relationship of the Mauritanian samples with isolates of F. gigantica from different localities of Africa and Asia. The COI genotypes of the Mauritanian specimens of F. gigantica had a high level of diversity, and they belonged to the F. gigantica phylogenically distinguishable clade. The present study is the first molecular characterization of F. gigantica in sheep and cattle from Mauritania, allowing a reliable approach for the genetic differentiation of Fasciola spp. and providing basis for further studies on liver flukes in the African countries.