Molecular Characterization of Fasciola hepatica in Sheep Based on DNA Sequences of Ribosomal ITS-1

Muslimah N Alsulami,1 Khalil Mohamed,2 Majed H Wakid,3,4 Rewaida Abdel-Gaber,5 Ashraf G Timsah,6,7 Wafa Abdullah I Al-Megrin,8 Adil Khan,9 Walaa A Elkholy,10 Khaled AA Abdelaal,11 Hatem A Elshabrawy,12 Asmaa M El-Kady13 1Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; 4Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al Baha, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Al-Azhar University, New Damietta City, Egypt; 8Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Zoology, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Pakistan; 10Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; 11EPCRS Excellence Center, Plant Pathology and Biotechnology Lab, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El Sheikh, 33516, Egypt; 12Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sam Houston State University, Conroe, TX, 77304, USA; 13Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, EgyptCorrespondence: Hatem A Elshabrawy; Khaled AA Abdelaal, Tel +201283557774, Fax +20473109524, Email hatem.elshabrawy@shsu.edu; khaled.elhaies@gmail.comIntroduction: World Health Organization (WHO) considers Fascioliasis as a neglected tropical disease that requires global efforts for disease control. Data from the genetic characterization of Fasciola population shed light on the spread of infections among animals which could help in the development of effective parasite control. The aim of the present work was to genetically characterize Fasciola adult worms isolated from sheep in Saudi Arabia by sequence analysis of ITS-1 region.Methods: A total of 12,653 slaughtered sheep in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia were examined for the presence of Fasciola spp. adult worms. The ITS-1 region of all parasites was amplified and sequenced.Results: Overall, 12 variants DNA sequences were obtained. The variance of isolates ranged from 0.00771 to 0.34405. BLAST search showed that all obtained sequences were Fasciola hepatica and had > 99.3% similarity with F. hepatica isolates from Spain and USA (from different hosts other than sheep). Phylogenetic analysis showed that Fasciola isolates were closely related to isolates from different countries.Discussion: The current study showed that F. hepatica was the only spp. isolated from sheep in Jeddah. Further studies from different localities in Saudi Arabia are needed to help in the development of disease control.Keywords: genetic diversity, characterization, Fasciola hepatica, parasitic diseases, sheep