Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Taenia multiceps from China

Taenia multiceps, one of the most widely distributed zoonotic tapeworm parasites, is able to parasitize the small intestine of canids. The metacestode of T.multiceps is fatal to ruminants and causes important economic losses in livestock. However, molecular characteristics of T.multiceps and coenurus in China are still unclear. In this study, 36 goat isolates of the coenurus stage and 18 dog isolates of the adult stage of T.multiceps were obtained from three geographical areas in China and the isolated parasite above were analyzed by amplifying the partial of cytochrome coxidase subunit 1(pcox1), 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA) from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions and an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA). These DNA sequences obtained from T.multiceps and coenurus were employed to evaluate the nucleotide diversity and confirm the relationship between T.multiceps and coenurus. Sequences variation were 0-1.4%, 0-1.5%, 0-4.2% for pcox1, 12S rRNA and ITS, respectively, among T.multiceps and coenurus isolates obtained in this study. In Sichuan province, sequence variations for Coenurus cerebralis isolated from Yaan city were 0-1.4% for pcox1, 0-1.0% for 12S rRNA and 0-2.1% for ITS. In Hunan province, variations were 0-1.0%, 0-1.5% and 0-3.3% for corresponding genes for non-coenurus cerebralis isolated from Changsha city, while variations of T.multiceps isolates from Xiangxi autonomous prefecture were 0-1.0%, 0-1.1% and 0-3.4% for pcox1, 12S rRNA and ITS, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on pcox1 sequences indicated that all cerebral and noncerebral metacestodes belong to T.multiceps. These results provide reference values for future molecular epidemiological and biological study on T.multiceps in dogs and intermediate hosts.