Molecular Characterization of Mesocestoides litteratus (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea: Mesocestoididae) Tetrathyridium Isolated from Two Species of Rodents from Iran.

Purpose: Mesocestoides spp. are Cyclophyllidean tapeworms with zoonotic importance. The current study aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics of Mesocestoides larvae (tetrathyridium) isolated from the abdominal cavity of persion jird, Meriones persicus, and from the liver of grey hamster, Cricetulus migratorius, in Ardabil Province, northwest Iran. Methods: Genomic DNA of the isolates of Mesocestoides tetrathyridium were extracted, and mitochondrial gene of cytochrome-c oxidase subunit1 (cox1) was amplified. Sequencing of PCR products were performed and phylogenic analysis was run using MEGA 6.0 software. Results: Both isolates were identified as Mesocestoides litteratus, showing high identity with M. litteratus sequences available in GenBank. Also, they had 100% homology to each other. Intra-species variation within isolates of M. litteratus were 0–2.4%. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on the partial sequence of the cox1 gene showed that our sequences of M. litteratus were clustered with M. litteratus isolates from Slovakia, Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Conclusion: This is the first molecular description of M. litteratus from M. persicus and C. migratorius. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that M. litteratus isolates of the current study had very high identities with the isolates of this species from other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]