title: First insights into the genetic diversity of Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) in Serbia.
abstract: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) is a cosmopolitan zoonotic infection which is endemic in Serbia where it is subject to mandatory reporting. However, information on the incidence of the disease in humans and prevalence of hydatid infection in livestock remains limited. We used sequenced data of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox 1) mitochondrial gene to examine the genetic diversity and population structure of E. granulosus (s.s.) from intermediate hosts from Serbia. We also compared our generated nucleotide sequences with those reported for neighbouring European countries. Echinococcus canadensis was molecularly confirmed from pig and human hydatid isolates. E. granulosus (G1) was confirmed from sheep and cattle hydatid isolates as well as the first molecular confirmation in Serbia of E. granulosus G2 in sheep and E. granulosus G3 in sheep and cattle hydatid isolates. The Serbian E. granulosus (s.s.) parsimony network displayed 2 main haplotypes (SB02 and SB05) which together with the neutrality indices were suggestive of bottleneck and/or balancing selection. Haplotype analysis showed the presence of the common E. granulosus haplotype described from other worldwide regions. Investigation of the pairwise fixation (Fst) index suggested that Serbian populations of E. granulosus (s.s.) from sheep and cattle hosts showed moderate genetic differentiation. Six of the Serbian haplotypes (SB02-SB07) were shared with haplotypes from Bulgaria, Hungary and/or Romania. Further studies using a larger number of hydatid isolates from various locations across Serbia will provide more information on the genetic structure of E. granulosus (s.s.) within this region.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Specialistic Institute Kraljevo, Žička 34, 36000 Kraljevo, Serbia.
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Debeljak
authors.affiliation: European Reference Laboratory for Parasites (EURLP), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: bboufana@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Belgees
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boufana
authors.affiliation: European Reference Laboratory for Parasites (EURLP), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Interisano
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Specialistic Institute Kraljevo, Žička 34, 36000 Kraljevo, Serbia.
authors.forename: Dejan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vidanovic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary medicine Belgrade, Department of Parasitology, Bulevar Oslobodjenja 18, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kulisic
authors.affiliation: European Reference Laboratory for Parasites (EURLP), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casulli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D048209:Echinococcus granulosus / Q000235:genetics*; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto; Genetic diversity; Serbia