Abstract
The transmission of some schistosome parasites is dependent on the planorbid snail hosts. Bulinus truncatus is important in urinary schistosomiasis epidemiology in Africa. Hence, there is a need to define the snails’ phylogeography. This study assessed the population genetic structure of B. truncatus from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat (Sudan) and Madziwa, Shamva District (Zimbabwe) using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) markers. COI was sequenced from 94 B. truncatus samples including 38 (Egypt), 36 (Sudan) and 20 (Zimbabwe). However, only 51 ITS 1 sequences were identified from Egypt (28) and Sudan (23) (because of failure in either amplification or sequencing). The unique COI haplotypes of B. truncatus sequences observed were 6, 11, and 6 for Egypt, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, respectively. Also, 3 and 2 unique ITS 1 haplotypes were observed in sequences from Egypt and Sudan respectively. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from Sudan and Zimbabwe indicated high haplotype diversity with 0.768 and 0.784, respectively, while relatively low haplotype diversity was also observed for sequences from Egypt (0.334). The location of populations from Egypt and Sudan on the B. truncatus clade agrees with the location of both countries geographically. The clustering of the Zimbabwe sequences on different locations on the clade can be attributed to individuals with different genotypes within the population. No significant variation was observed within B. truncatus populations from Egypt and Sudan as indicated by the ITS 1 tree. This study investigated the genetic diversity of B. truncatus from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat area (Sudan), and Madziwa (Zimbabwe), which is necessary for snail host surveillance in the study areas and also provided genomic data of this important snail species from the sampled countries.
Highlights
The snail intermediate hosts of the genus Bulinus play active roles in the epidemiology of urinary schistosomiasis
This study provided information on the phylogeography of B. truncatus populations from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat area (Sudan), and Madziwa, Shamva District (Zimbabwe), using partial mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) to determine their phylogenetic relationship, which is important for epidemiological investigation and snail hosts surveillance
6, 11, and 6 unique cytochrome oxidase subunit gene (COI) haplotypes of B. truncatus sequences were observed from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat area (Sudan) and Madziwa, Shamva district (Zimbabwe), respectively (Table 2)
Summary
The snail intermediate hosts of the genus Bulinus play active roles in the epidemiology of urinary schistosomiasis. Members of the genus Bulinus are hermaphroditic planorbid snails, and this genus includes 37 recognized species distributed in the tropic and sub-tropic regions of the world including Africa, Mediterranean countries, and parts of the Middle East [5]. They differ in their interaction with schistosome parasites and some are involved in the transmission of human and animal schistosomiasis [6]. These important snail species inhabit various types of freshwater bodies such as streams, ponds, rivers, and irrigation canals [7]. The genetic structure of snail hosts is mostly determined by their habitat distribution, which is largely influenced by the spatial and temporal fluctuations in water availability [8,9] leading to population bottlenecks [5]
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