Browsing by Author "Sibula, M.S."

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    Amphistome Infection and Species Diversity of Freshwater Snails Collected from Selected Wildlife Drinking Water Sources in Matebeleland Region of Zimbabwe
    (Vet. Sci., 2024-05-13) Sibula, M.S.; Malatji, M.P.; Nyahunda, C.; Mukaratirwa, S.
    Simple Summary Amphistomes, also known as rumen flukes, are parasites of domestic and wild ruminants and occur globally. Adult parasites are found in the forestomach, and the young flukes are found in the small intestines, causing severe damage. The flukes are transmitted by various species of freshwater snails. While the disease is well documented in domestic ruminants, there are gaps in knowledge pertaining to wild ruminants with regard to the fluke species as well as the snail species which transmit them. Therefore, freshwater snails were surveyed from 19 water points that are frequented by wild ruminants in the Matebeleland region, Zimbabwe. Snails were found at nine sites, and eight species were identified and screened for rumen fluke DNA to determine the fluke species and prevalence of infection. Rumen fluke DNA was detected in 11.9% of the screened snails. Prevalence was high in the West Nicholson locality and in Bulinus globosus snail species. One rumen fluke species, i.e., Calicophoron microbothrium, was confirmed in one snail species and there were also mixed infections with lung fluke parasite, Paragonimus spp., in two snail species. This was the first study documenting the presence of this lung fluke in Zimbabwe. Abstract This study aimed at determining the identity of freshwater snails collected from selected water habitats frequented by wildlife as source of drinking water in the Matebeleland region of Zimbabwe and further screening the identified snails for natural infections with amphistomes using PCR. A total of 487 freshwater snails were collected from six areas in the Matebeleland region of Zimbabwe for identification and screening of amphistome infection. Eight freshwater snail species were morphologically identified and Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Bul. tropicus, Bul. truncatus, Bul. globosus, and L. (R.) natalensis were confirmed using the COI gene. Bulinus tropicus and Phy. acuta were the most abundant species at 33.9% (165/487) and 31.2% (155/487), respectively. DNA of amphistome was detected in 11.9% (58/487) of the collected snails. The highest infection rate was detected in Bul. globosus (44.4%). West Nicholson recorded the highest infection rate (33.9%), and infection was not detected in L. (R.) natalensis, Phy. acuta, and Bellamya spp. Amphistome DNA from M. tuberculata was successfully sequenced and identified as Calicophoron microbothrium. An additional band was detected in M. tuberculata, Bul. tropicus, and Bul. trancatus, which showed a 96.42% similarity to Paragonimus sp. sequence in the GenBank.
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    Molecular Characterization of Paramphistomes fromCattle from Matebeleland Region (Zimbabwe) using RandomAmplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) and Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA)
    (Society of Education, 2014) Sibula, M.S.; Dhlamini, Zephaniah; Dube, S.
    Paramphistome isolates collected from local abattoirs were genetically characterised using the Random Ampl41i47fied Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique and Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA). These isolates were morphologically characterized using median sectioning and five putative species were identified. Of the 18 isolates that were being investigated, 16 were positively identified: three belonged to Calicophoron calicophorum, two were Calicophoron microbothrium, one was Gigantocotyle symmeri, 6 were identified as Calicophoron raja and the other 6 were identified as Calicophoron clavula. A restriction digest of the amplified ITS-2 region of all isolates was done using two restriction enzymes Hae III and Sau 3A1 and the fragments obtained did not show any detectable polymorphisms on all isolates. A total number of 110 bands were generated by RAPD-PCR and 91.82% of these were polymorphic with an average genetic distance of 0.4810+/- 0.185 that showed substantial variability among the paramphistome isolates. The RAPD-PCR technique however, gave banding patterns that on analysis were able to cluster (on the dendrogram) the isolates into their respective species groups and even aid in identifying the two isolates that were not positively identified morphologically as Calicophoron raja. A fragment of approximately 1300bp was generated from primer OPB 07 on Calicophoron microbothrium isolates which can be used as a selectable marker for this species. The findings of the present study therefore showed that the RAPD- PCR technique can be used for molecular identification of paramphistomes.