Research Center for Tropical Diseases and Vector Control (RTC), Department of Veterinary Pharmacy, Clinics and Comparative Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, P.O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda; Gulu University Multifunctional Research Laboratories, P. O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda.
Infect Genet Evol. 2022 Oct;104:105359. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105359. Epub 2022 Sep 5.
Fasciola gigantica is a major pathogen that causes fasciolosis in Africa. A recent study in Uganda demonstrated that Fasciola flukes were present in 65.7% of slaughtered cattle. However, molecular identification of Fasciola species has not yet been performed in the country. In the present study, 292 Fasciola flukes were collected from Kampala and Gulu, Uganda. The samples were identified as F. gigantica using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pepck) and a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay for DNA polymerase delta (pold). A significant genetic difference between F. gigantica obtained from cattle slaughtered at Kampala and Gulu was observed by analyzing the mitochondrial markers NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (cox1). Fasciola collected from Gulu had a more diversified population than that collected from Kampala, probably because of differences in livestock management systems. One of the possible reasons for this observation is that cattle slaughtered in Gulu were reared under an extensive communal grazing system, which is suitable for maintaining parasite diversity, whereas cattle slaughtered in Kampala mainly originated from fenced/closed farms, which limits parasite diversity. However, the cause of the difference between these two locations was not clearly defined by the results of this study. The F. gigantica population from Uganda was related to that obtained from Zambia. A star-like phylogeny was detected in a median-joining network analysis, which indicated rapid population expansion and suggested that the F. gigantica populations from both countries are maintained by domestic ruminants in eastern Africa. Interestingly, the F. gigantica population from Uganda was not related to those from Egypt and Nigeria. The results of the present study suggest that F. gigantica populations in African countries are indigenous to each country or region.
肝片形吸虫是一种主要的病原体，可在非洲引起片形吸虫病。乌干达最近的一项研究表明，在屠宰的牛中，有 65.7%存在双腔吸虫。然而，该国尚未对双腔吸虫进行种属的分子鉴定。本研究从乌干达的坎帕拉和古卢收集了 292 只双腔吸虫。使用磷酸烯醇丙酮酸羧激酶（pepck）多重聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测和 DNA 聚合酶 delta（pold）的 PCR 限制性片段长度多态性（RFLP）检测鉴定为肝片形吸虫。通过分析线粒体标记物 NADH 脱氢酶亚单位 1（nad1）和细胞色素 C 氧化酶亚单位 1（cox1），观察到来自坎帕拉和古卢屠宰牛的肝片形吸虫存在显著的遗传差异。与来自坎帕拉的肝片形吸虫相比，来自古卢的肝片形吸虫的种群更为多样化，这可能是由于牲畜管理系统的差异所致。造成这种观察结果的一个可能原因是，在古卢屠宰的牛是在广泛的公共放牧系统下饲养的，这有利于维持寄生虫的多样性，而在坎帕拉屠宰的牛主要来自围场/封闭农场，这限制了寄生虫的多样性。然而，本研究的结果并没有明确界定这两个地点之间差异的原因。乌干达的肝片形吸虫种群与赞比亚的肝片形吸虫种群有关。在中位数连接网络分析中检测到星形系统发育树，表明种群快速扩张，并表明来自这两个国家的肝片形吸虫种群是由东非的家养反刍动物维持的。有趣的是，乌干达的肝片形吸虫种群与埃及和尼日利亚的种群无关。本研究的结果表明，非洲国家的肝片形吸虫种群是各自国家或地区的土生土长的。
