Molecular analysis of benzimidazole-resistance associated SNPs in Haemonchus contortus populations of Uruguay.

Abstract

Haemonchus contortus is one of the most important parasite nematodes of small ruminants around the world and causes great economic losses in livestock production. Control of gastrointestinal nematode infections, like haemonchosis, relies mainly on anthelmintic drugs, but its excessive and inappropriate use has caused serious drug resistance issues in many countries, including Uruguay, where sheep production occupies an important place in the country's economy. Benzimidazole (BZ) anthelmintics have been used for decades to treat sheep against H. contortus infection and resistance to this anthelmintic group has been widely described. Molecularly, BZ resistance in H. contortus has been correlated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the β-tubulin isotype 1 gene at codon 200 and 167 (both TTC to TAC, F167Y and F200Y) and at codon 198 (GAA to GCA, E198A).The aim of this work was to explore the presence of these tubulin SNPs in H. contortus adult worms recovered from sheep abomasa from a slaughterhouse in Uruguay. The mean resistant allelic frequencies at positions F167Y and F200Y were 20.25 and 47.45%, respectively, for worms recovered from naturally infected sheep slaughtered in 2013, while those that were slaughtered in 2014 presented only F200Y SNP with a frequency of 86.89%. Also H. contortus Kirby adult worms (anthelmintic- susceptible McMaster isolate), recovered from artificially infected sheep, were analyzed as reference for comparative purposes This analysis showed susceptible genotype at 167 and 198 position, and a low level of the resistance allele at the 200 position (3.66%). This is the first study for the presence of SNPs in the isotype-1 β-tubulin gene of H. contortus populations in Uruguay, which is consistent with the previous epidemiological studies carried out through the method of fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), thus confirming the serious resistance levels to BZ anthelmintics also in this country.