Species and morphs in the Ostertagiinae: an allozyme study of seven species.

Five enzymes, malate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, mannose-phosphate isomerase, glucose-phosphate isomerase and phosphoglucomutase from seven putative species of Ostertagiinae were compared using starch-gel electrophoresis. The Nei distances were not much affected by origin of specimens or host species. Six of the putative species could form polymorphic pairs: Ostertagia ostertagi and Ostertagia lyrata, Ostertagia leptospicularis and Ostertagia kolchida, Teladorsagia circumcincta and Teladorsagia trifurcata. The Nei distance was of the same magnitude (> 0.6) between species pairs, O. ostertagi, O. leptospicularis, T. circumcincta and Spiculopteragia spp.