Phylogenetic study of Hepatozoan canis blood parasite in stray dogs of Guilan province

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, IRan

2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Abstract

Reports in the literature indicate that species of Hepatozoon canis blood parasites are common in Iranian dog populations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of H. canis infections and their phylogenetic relationships in dogs from an animal shelter in Guilan province using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis.A total of 20 blood samples were subjected to PCR to amplify a fragment of 562 bp from the 18S rRNA gene of Hepatozoonspp. The PCR results showed that the Hepatozoon infection rate in the dogs was 10%. (2/20). Sequence analysis revealed that the H. canis found in this study was 100% matched to H. canisin in the NCBI GenBank database, which originated from a dog in Tehran (accession number KX880505) and a golden jackal in Romania (accession number KX712126). In the phylogenetic analysis, these three sequences are grouped in the same clade. This was the first study of dogs from Guilan province using molecular phylogenetic methods. There is a need for more comprehensive studies to determine the infection status in Iran.
 

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Journal of Veterinary Laboratory Research
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24
September 2023
Pages 121-129

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