Korean J Parasitol.  2015 Apr;53(2):201-207. 10.3347/kjp.2015.53.2.201.

Developmental and Phylogenetic Characteristics of Stellantchasmus falcatus (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) from Thailand

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. wchalobol@gmail.com
  • 2Biology Program, School of Science, University of Phayao, Muang, Phayao 56000, Thailand.
  • 3Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
  • 4Biotechnology Unit, Biology Department, Science Faculty, Phayao University, Phayao 56000, Thailand.
  • 5Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the infection status, worm development, and phylogenetic characteristics of the intestinal trematode, Stellantchasmus falcatus. The metacercariae of S. falcatus were detected only in the half-beak (Dermogenus pusillus) out of the 4 fish species examined. Their prevalence was 90.0%, and the intensity of infection was 919 metacercariae on average. Worms were recovered from 33 (97.1%) of 34 chicks that were experimentally infected with 200 S. falcatus metacercariae each, and the average recovery rate was 43.0%. The body size and inner organs of S. falcatus quickly increased in the experimental chicks over days 1-2 post-infection (PI). In addition, ITS2 sequence data of this parasite were analyzed to examine the phylogenetic relationships with other trematodes using the UPGMA method. The results indicated that the ITS2 sequence data recorded from trematodes in the family Heterophyidae appeared to be monophyletic. This study concluded that D. pusillus serves as a compatible second intermediate host of S. falcatus in Thailand and that S. falcatus can develop rapidly in the experimental chicks. Data collected from this study can help to close the gap in knowledge regarding the epidemiology, biology, and phylogenetic characteristics of S. falcatus in Thailand.

Keyword

Stellantchasmus falcatus; worm development; ITS2; phylogenetic analysis; prevalence

MeSH Terms

Animals
Chickens
Fish Diseases/*parasitology
Fishes
Heterophyidae/*classification/genetics/growth & development/*isolation & purification
Metacercariae/classification/genetics/*growth & development/isolation & purification
*Phylogeny
Poultry Diseases/*parasitology
Thailand
Trematode Infections/parasitology/*veterinary
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