Molecular Identification of Homalogaster paloniae Poirier, 1882 (Trematoda: Gastrodiscidae) in Swamp Buffaloes Bubalus bubalis (Linnaeus, 1758) from Meghalaya, India

Homalogaster paloniae (Gastrodiscidae, Trematoda) can lead to considerable economic losses to the breeding industry of livestock. The objective of the present study was to determine the phylogenetic position of Homalogaster paloniae based on ribosomal DNA sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2). ITS2 sequence analysis was carried out to perceive the occurrence of intra-specific variations within the species. The adult flukes collected from rectum of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus, 1758) were identified as H. paloniae based on morphological criteria. ITS-2 was used as a genetic marker for identification and genotypic analysis of the parasite. PCR targeting conserved regions of ITS-2 yielded a 516bp fragment which on sequencing showed 100% similarity with that of H. paloniae. Phylogenetic studies by neighbour joining method revealed close relationship with Gigantocotyle explanatum, Paramphistomum epiclitum and Calicophoron calicophorum.