title: Species-specific primers designed from RAPD products for Bithynia funiculata, the first intermediate host of liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, in North Thailand.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Food-Borne Parasite Research Group, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
authors.forename: Jutharat
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kulsantiwong
authors.forename: Sattrachai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prasopdee
authors.forename: Supawadee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piratae
authors.forename: Panita
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khampoosa
authors.forename: Apiporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suwannatrai
authors.forename: Wipada
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duangprompo
authors.forename: Thidarut
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boonmars
authors.forename: Wipaporn
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ruangjirachuporn
authors.forename: Jiraporn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruangsittichai
authors.forename: Vithoon
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viyanant
authors.forename: Paul D N
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: Smarn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tesana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000592:standards*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009889:Opisthorchiasis / Q000635:transmission; D009891:Opisthorchis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018509:DNA, Helminth