Molecular link between the metacercariae and adults of four species Haematoloechus (Digenea: Plagiorchioidea), including scanning electron microscopy characterization.

Abstract

Haematoloechus comprises a species-rich genus of trematodes commonly found in the lungs of amphibians across the globe. Of the approximately 70 species reported worldwide, Mexico stands out as a biodiversity hot spot for the genus, with 16 species described. In Los Tuxtlas tropical rainforest, in south-eastern Mexico, three species have been reported, two of them endemic of the frog species occurring in the area. Here, we added the record of a fourth species in the area, and partially elucidated the life cycle of these species using DNA sequence data from the 28S rRNA and the COI genes. Frogs, and a diverse array of species of aquatic insects were sampled in two lakes within the tropical rain forest. Adults and metacercariae of Haematoloechus were obtained. Both developmental stages were linked molecularly contributing to our understanding of their transmission pathways, and probable host-specificity patterns. Each of the four species of Haematoloechus were sampled in a particular species of anisopteran odonate, and therefore were considered as specialists towards their second intermediate host. We validated the presence of H. complexus in the region of Los Tuxtlas because their metacercariae, sampled in the anisopteran dragongly Agriogomphus tumens, matched with sequences of H. complexus from Nebraska and Illinois in USA. We further described the ultrastructure of the tegument of three of the four species of Haematoloechus, sampled from their definitive host (Rana vaillanti, Rana berlandieri), to contribute with characters that can be reliable for species delimitation of the genus.