Molecular Diversity of the Genus <i>Plagiorchis</i> Lühe, 1899 in Snail Hosts of Central Europe with Evidence of New Lineages

oleh: Petra Kundid, Camila Pantoja, Kristýna Janovcová, Miroslava Soldánová

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-03-01

Deskripsi

Cercariae of <i>Plagiorchis</i> spp. are frequently reported in European freshwater snails, but their true diversity is difficult to estimate due to subtle differences in morphology. We molecularly characterized 67 isolates of <i>Plagiorchis</i> cercariae collected from four lymnaeid snail hosts, <i>Ampullaceana balthica</i>, <i>Ampullaceana lagotis</i>, <i>Radix auricularia</i> and <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i> in freshwater ecosystems in the Czech Republic and Poland. Based on mitochondrial <i>cox</i>1 and nuclear 28S sequences, ten species or species-level lineages were identified, including the first molecular evidence of <i>P. vespertilionis</i> from snail hosts and two species-level lineages reported for the first time. Previously undescribed species and species-level lineages are characterized morphometrically. We confirm the overlapping spatial distribution of <i>Plagiorchis</i> spp. in their snail hosts from Central Europe with those from Western and sub-Arctic Europe. Our results increase the known diversity of <i>Plagiorchis</i> spp. in Europe to 25 species/lineages in snails, but further research is needed to establish links between life cycle stages and to assess the host specificity of these parasites.