RESEARCH Open Access Distribution and genetic variation of hymenolepidid cestodes in murid rodents on the Canary Islands (Spain)

• Main Authors: Pilar Foronda, Mercedes López-gonzález, Mariano Hernández, Voitto Haukisalmi, Carlos Feliu
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Rattus rattus
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.288.6841

Background: In the Canary Islands there are no previous data about tapeworms (Cestoda) of rodents. In order to identify the hymenolepidid species present in these hosts, a survey of 1,017 murine (349 Rattus rattus, 13Rattus norvegicus and 655 Mus musculus domesticus) was carried out in the whole Archipelago. Molecular studies based on nuclear ITS1 and mitochondrial COI loci were performed to confirm the identifications and to analyse the levels of genetic variation and differentiation. Results: Three species of hymenolepidids were identified: Hymenolepis diminuta, Rodentolepis microstoma and Rodentolepis fraterna. Hymenolepis diminuta (in rats) and R. microstoma (in mice) showed a widespread distribution in the Archipelago, and R. fraterna was the least spread species, appearing only on five of the islands. The hymenolepidids found on Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa were restricted to one area. The COI network of H. diminuta showed that the haplotypes from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the most distant with respect to the other islands, but clearly related among them. Conclusions: Founder effects and biotic and abiotic factors could have played important role in the presence/ absence of the hymenolepidid species in determined locations. The haplotypes from the eastern islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) seem to have shared an ancestral haplotype very distant from the most frequent