A novel technique for identification of Ascaris suum cohorts in pigs

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

The objective of the present study was to develop a fast, cheap and reliable technique for identifying different cohorts of the swine parasite, Ascaris suum. A polymerase chain reaction linked restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique on mt-DNA was used to identify unique haplotypes of four gravid A. suum females on agarose gels after eggs were recovered from each of the worms. Each of four pigs was inoculated with 2000 embryonated eggs originating from one of the four identified Ascaris haplotypes, respectively. Ascaris larvae were isolated from the small intestine at day 14 post-infection using an agar technique. Single larvae from each pig were transferred to 96-well PCR plates and a simple DNA extraction using a worm lysis buffer was carried out and followed by the PCR-RFLP analysis. More than 100 larvae from each of the four pigs were analysed and all were found to have the same haplotype as the parental female. We conclude that unique haplotypes of female A. suum and offspring can be identified by means of PCR-RFLP on mt-DNA and suggest that this method can be used in future research on Ascaris population biology using cohorts with distinct mt-DNA profile.
Original languageEnglish
JournalVeterinary Parasitology
Volume154
Issue number1-2
Pages (from-to)171-174
Number of pages4
ISSN0304-4017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

    Research areas

  • Former LIFE faculty - Ascaris, Cohorts, Challenge infection, Host-parasite interaction, Genotypes

ID: 8109721