Molecular characterization of Ascaridia galli from Bangladesh and development of a PCR method for distinguishing A. galli from Heterakis spp.

We analyzed the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and ITS2 sequences for Bangladesh isolates of Ascaridia galli, and we determined that the sequences were unreliable as molecular markers for distinguishing A. galli from other Ascaridia species, because the sequences showed high identity with that of A. columbae. However, the ITS1 sequences were available for designing PCR primers distinguishable between Ascaridia galli and Heterakis spp. Bangladesh isolates of A. galli constituted a monophyletic clade along with other geographical isolates in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) phylogenetic tree, however, we could not clarify the phylogenetic relationships between A. galli and other Ascaridia spp., because their available sequences in GenBank were very few. The developed PCR method using DNA from A. galli and Heterakis spp. eggs would enable differential diagnosis of the individual infections in the future.