Detection ofRaillietina saudiaefrom the domestic pigeon in Saudi Arabia through18Sand28S rDNAgenes

Abstract

Raillietina saudiaeis a well-studied avian gastrointestinal parasite belonging to the family Davaineidae and is the most prevalent cyclophyllid tapeworm infecting pigeon in Saudi Arabia. The present study considered as a complementary analysis of Al-Quraishy et al. (2019;Parasitol Int71, 59-72) with molecular studies for two ribosomal DNA genes employed for precise recognition of thisRaillietinaspecies. The annotated partial18Sand28S rDNAgene regions were found to be 888 and 900 bp long that utilized further to elucidate their genetic relationships at species level using maximum likelihood method. The query sequence ofR. saudiaeis well aligned and placed within the Davaineidae family, with the same clade of all species ofRaillietinathat well separated from other cyclophyllidean cestodes especially taeniid and hymenolepid species. Sequence data recorded the monophyly ofRaillietinaspecies. The current phylogeny supports the usage of the partial18Sand28S rDNAgenes as reliable markers for phylogenetic reconstructions.