First molecular report of Moniezia expansa in small ruminants of Pakistan with epidemiological insight.

The members of genus Moniezia are the common parasites of livestock in tropical areas. The tapeworm, Moniezia expansa is commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of the small and large ruminants. The present study focused on reporting the prevalence of M. expansa in small ruminants of southern Punjab: sheep and goats, in relation with epidemiological factors like age and gender. An overall prevalence of 27.2% was estimated for the small ruminants with higher infection rates in males (29.8%) and younger age group (<1 year; 32.9%). Moreover, the molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the isolates based on partial cox1 gene indicated the placement of these sequences in the M. expansa cluster. Two distinct haplotypes, without any host tropism, were identified within the Pakistani isolates. A meta-analysis for M. expansa was run for all available global reports exhibiting an overall pooled prevalence of 21.3% (CI 95%: 13.5-29.0). Additionally, a global dataset encompassing 59 partial cox1 sequences submitted from different geographical locations was also assessed. Moderate haplotype diversity (0.760 ± 0.051) and significantly negative deviations from neutrality were estimated. The median joining haplotype network for these sequences revealed an interesting population structure indicating highly divergent sequences from China and Iraq compared to Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Senegal and Ethiopia. Given inconsistencies in genetic data there is a dire need to carry out molecular studies across the entire distributional range of M. expansa to delineate genetic diversity and population structure of the species. This will also be crucial in reevaluating the taxonomy of genus Moniezia.