Molecular evidence that Langeronia macrocirra and Langeronia cf. parva (Trematoda: Pleurogenidae) parasites of anurans from Mexico are conspecific

Abstract

The genus Langeronia parasitizing the intestine of several species of anurans is distributed from North to Central America. We identified Langeronia macrocirra and Langeronia cf. parva from the same host and localities, and present here new data not applicable about their tegumental surface by scanning electron microscopy. We compared sequences of the rDNA ITS2 region and mtDNA cox1 gene for the two morphotypes. ITS2 exhibited a high degree of conservation. Phylogenetic reconstruction using cox1 revealed three clades (I, II, and III), which did not correspond to a previous identification or host. Little divergence was found within clades: sequences were identical in clade I, whereas clade II had 0.27% and clade III had 1.08%. Inter-clade divergence reached 8.69% (I vs. III). This pattern of genetic divergence indicated that both taxa probably belong to the same species, so we posit that the morphological changes could be correlated with development. Increasing sample size and geographical coverage will contribute to the taxonomy of the genus based on morphological and molecular evidence, and will open tracks toward the use of DNA barcodes to the genus in Mexico.

Keywords::

• Digenean
• parasites
• morphology
• scanning electron microscopy
• anurans
• cytochrome c oxidase I

Acknowledgements

Patricia Escalante, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, and Rob DeSalle invited us to participate in this special issue. The authors are grateful to Ma. Antonieta Arizmendi, Florencia Bertoni-Ruiz, Elisa Cabrera-Guzman, Sol Galicia, Jorge Falcon-Ordaz, Luis Jorge García, Agustin Jimenez-Ruiz, Georgina Lira, Rosario Mata, Berenit Mendoza-Garfias, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Laura Paredes-Calderón, Ulises Razo-Mendivil, Rogelio Rosas-Valdez, and Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón for their help in the collection of specimens and their assistance in the field; Berenit Mendoza-Garfias, Instituto de Biología, UNAM, for assistance in processing samples for SEM; Laura Marquez-Valdelamar for provided technical assistance with the sequencer; and Rogelio Rosas-Valdez for assistance in the molecular analysis and figures. They thank Eric Hoberg and Patricia Pilitt, (USNPC, Beltsville, MD, USA), Luis Garcia-Prieto and Rafael Lamothe-Argumedo (CNHE, Instituto de Biología, UNAM), and Beatriz Rodriguez (Colección de Helmintos de, CHCR) for the loan of specimens. Daniel Brooks for provision samples of L. macrocirra and P. chabaudi from Guanacaste, Costa Rica for the present study; and Valerie McKenzie for providing samples of L. macrocirra from Guatemala and Costa Rica. Special thanks to Tyler Elliott for the detailed revision of English language. Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis is thanked for his revision and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.

The present work was partially supported through funding from the National Science Foundation (grants DEB-0102383 and DEB-01613802) and CONACyT (grant no. 54475) to VLR. EAMS was funded by a scholarship from CONACyT and DGEP-UNAM, and a postdoctoral fellowship from CONACyT.

Declarations of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.