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Intra- and interspecies variation and population dynamics of Fasciola gigantica among ruminants in Sudan

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Abstract

Fasciola gigantica is a widespread parasite that causes neglected disease in livestock worldwide. Its high transmissibility and dispersion are attributed to its ability to infect intermediate snail hosts and adapt to various mammalian definitive hosts. This study investigated the variation and population dynamics of F. gigantica in cattle, sheep, and goats from three states in Sudan. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) genes were sequenced successfully to examine intra and interspecific differences. ND1 exhibited higher diversity than COI, with 15 haplotypes and 10 haplotypes, respectively. Both genes had high haplotype diversity but low nucleotide diversity, with 21 and 11 polymorphic sites for ND1 and COI, respectively. Mismatch distribution analysis and neutrality tests revealed that F. gigantica from different host species was in a state of population expansion. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees and median networks revealed that F. gigantica in Sudan and other African countries had host-specific and country-specific lineages for both genes. The study also indicated that F. gigantica-infected small ruminants were evolutionarily distant, suggesting deep and historical interspecies adaptation.

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No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks are extended to the Molecular Genetics and Genomics Laboratory at College of Veterinary Medicine at King Faisal University. Additionally, we express our gratitude to Dr. Elfatih Mohamed for crafting the map featured in Figure S1.

Funding

We acknowledge the partial financial support from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [22H02505].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Khartoum, Sudan

    Kamal Ibrahim

  2. Laboratory of Parasitology, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-18, Nishi-9, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0818, Japan

    Elisha Chatanga

  3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi

    Elisha Chatanga & Ryo Nakao

  4. Molecular Biology Unit, Sirius Training and Research Center, Khartoum, Sudan

    Nouh S. Mohamed

  5. Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan

    Ayman Ahmed

  6. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Najran University, Najran, 1988, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Saeed Alasmari

  7. Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Husbandry, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

    Faisal Almathen

  8. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 32, Khartoum North, Sudan

    Bashir Salim

  9. Camel Research Center, King Faisal University, Al-Hofuf, Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia

    Bashir Salim

Authors
  1. Kamal Ibrahim
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  2. Elisha Chatanga
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  3. Nouh S. Mohamed
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  4. Ayman Ahmed
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  5. Saeed Alasmari
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  6. Faisal Almathen
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  7. Ryo Nakao
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  8. Bashir Salim
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Contributions

BS and RN designed, conceptualized research, and supervised the work. KI contributed samples. BS, EC, YO, NN, and RN carried out the experiments. BS and NSM analyzed data. BS, MA, and RN acquired funding. BS, NSM, SA, and FA contributed to the interpretation of the results. BS and RN administrated project. BS, NSM, and SA wrote the original draft. BS, NSM. SA, AA, and RN are responsible for writing, reviewing, and editing. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis, and manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bashir Salim.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was reviewed and approved by Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Khartoum, Sudan. We confirm that the study is conducted in accordance with ARRIVE guidelines (https://arriveguidelines.org) and with the guidelines for sampling domestic animals in Sudan, ensuring ethical compliance in the collection and use of the samples.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ibrahim, K., Chatanga, E., Mohamed, N.S. et al. Intra- and interspecies variation and population dynamics of Fasciola gigantica among ruminants in Sudan. Parasitol Res 123, 210 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08201-5

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