TY - JOUR
T1 - Species-specific primers designed from RAPD products for Bithynia funiculata, the first intermediate host of liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, in north Thailand
AU - Kulsantiwong, Jutharat
AU - Prasopdee, Sattrachai
AU - Piratae, Supawadee
AU - Khampoosa, Panita
AU - Suwannatrai, Apiporn
AU - Duangprompo, Wipada
AU - Boonmars, Thidarut
AU - Ruangjirachuporn, Wipaporn
AU - Ruangsittichai, Jiraporn
AU - Viyanant, Vithoon
AU - Hebert, Paul D.N.
AU - Tesana, Smarn
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Bithynia funiculata is the first intermediate host of the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini in northern Thailand but its identification through morphological analysis is often problematic due to the shortage of gastropod taxonomists. As a consequence, we focused on the development of species-specific primers for use as an identification tool. Our work involved recovery of a 502-base pair (bp) amplicon of unknown function through species-specific primers whose effectiveness was tested by analyzing specimens of B. funiculata from 3 locations in northern Thailand. This primer set did not amplify other species in the Bithyniidae or in other gastropod families. By providing a tool to confirm morphological identifications of B. funiculata, and by enabling the identification of juvenile specimens and those with damaged shells, these primers will improve estimates of the prevalence of parasitic infections in this snail.
AB - Bithynia funiculata is the first intermediate host of the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini in northern Thailand but its identification through morphological analysis is often problematic due to the shortage of gastropod taxonomists. As a consequence, we focused on the development of species-specific primers for use as an identification tool. Our work involved recovery of a 502-base pair (bp) amplicon of unknown function through species-specific primers whose effectiveness was tested by analyzing specimens of B. funiculata from 3 locations in northern Thailand. This primer set did not amplify other species in the Bithyniidae or in other gastropod families. By providing a tool to confirm morphological identifications of B. funiculata, and by enabling the identification of juvenile specimens and those with damaged shells, these primers will improve estimates of the prevalence of parasitic infections in this snail.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878701713&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1645/GE-3138.1
DO - 10.1645/GE-3138.1
M3 - Article
C2 - 23157281
AN - SCOPUS:84878701713
SN - 0022-3395
VL - 99
SP - 433
EP - 437
JO - Journal of Parasitology
JF - Journal of Parasitology
IS - 3
ER -