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Review
. 2013 Jun;72(6 Suppl 2):15-7.

Genetic diversity of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the major cause of eosinophilic meningitis

Praphathip Eamsobhana  1 , Phaik Eem Lim, Hoi Sen Yong
Affiliations
Review

Genetic diversity of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the major cause of eosinophilic meningitis

Praphathip Eamsobhana et al. Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Various aspects of the genetics of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, are reviewed. This nematode has an XX/XO sex-determination mechanism, with the female having a 2n = 12 (XX) and the male 2n = 11 (XO) chromosome constitution. Allozymes (12 loci) exhibit a low proportion of polymorphic loci (P = .08) and low mean heterozygosity (H = 0.43) in specimens from Hawa'i, and no polymorphism or heterozygosity in specimens from Thailand. The phosphoglucomutase-2 (PGM-2) locus exhibits sex-limited expression, with no detectable enzyme activity in the male worms from either location. Based on the 12 allozyme loci, Nei's genetic distance between the Hawa'i and Thailand isolates is D = 0.03. The p-distance (proportion of nucleotide sites) based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) is 3.61% between the Thailand and China isolates as well as between Thailand and Hawa'i isolates, and 0.83% between China and Hawa'i isolates. The partial DNA sequences of the 66 kDa protein gene show a great diversity of haplotypes, indicating both inter- and intra-population variation. Intra-specific sequence variation is also found in the internal transcribed spacer regions. For the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene, two distinct genotypes have been recorded.

Keywords: Allozymes; Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Chromosome number; Emerging infectious disease; Eosinophilic meningitis; Genetics; Parasitology; Rat lungworm disease.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phosphoglucomutase allozyme system of Angiostrongylus cantonensis from Hawai‘i (H) and Thailand (T).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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