title: Morphological and molecular discrimination of fasciola species isolated from domestic ruminants of urmia city, iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The trematodes of the genus Fasciola (the liver flukes) are among the well-known instances of food-borne parasites worldwide. Differentiation of Fasciola species is important because of their different transmission and epidemiological characteristics. The current study was undertaken to discriminate Fasciola species in the domestic ruminants of Urmia city, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult flukes were isolated from the naturally infected livers of the slaughtered water buffaloes and sheep. The flukes were initially identified based on morphological and morphometric parameters. A 618-bp-long fragment of the 28SrRNA gene of Fasciola was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified fragment was digested by DraII or AvaII enzymes for a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and sequenced for the phylogenetic tree construction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the morphometric examination, the flukes belonged to F. hepatica, F. gigantica and an intermediate Fasciola form. The PCR-RFLP analysis was able to differentiate F. hepatica from F. gigantica. While the phylogenetic reconstruction justified, to some extent, the morphological diagnosis, it failed to segregate F. hepatica from F. gigantica identified in this and the previous studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To resolve fully the problem of taxonomy and evolution in Fasciola species, employing a broad range of molecular and morphological approaches is necessary. This is crucial for epidemiological surveys and successful clinical management of their infection.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yakhchali
authors.affiliation: Lake Urmia Research Institute, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malekzadeh-Viayeh
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imani-Baran
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Food Hygiene and Quality, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mardani
keywords: 28SrRNA gene; Liver flukes; Morphology; PCR-sequencing; RFLP