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GENETIC SUBSTRUCTURING WITHIN OESOPHAGOSTOMUM BIFURCUM (NEMATODA) FROM HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN PRIMATES FROM GHANA BASED ON RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA ANALYSIS

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to study genetic variation within Oesophagostomum bifurcum in Ghana. Four different decamer primers were used for the amplification of DNA from individual O. bifurcum adults (n = 41) from humans and non-human primates (including the Mona monkey, Patas monkey and Olive baboon) from different geographic regions. Analysis of the amplicons from all 41 nematodes by high resolution, denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis defined a total of 326 informative RAPD bands. Cluster analysis of the RAPD data (based on pairwise comparison of banding profiles) showed that O. bifurcum from humans was genetically distinct from O. bifurcum from the Mona and Patas monkeys, and from the Olive baboon. These findings clearly demonstrate the existence of population genetic substructuring within O. bifurcum from different primate hosts in Ghana, and raise interesting questions about host specificity, epidemiology (e.g., zoonotic transmission), and ecology of the different genotypes of O. bifurcum.

Received December 10, 2003. Accepted for publication February 25, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We thank Y.G. Abs EL-Osta and A.J. Nisbet (Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne), H. Roberts (Department of Statistical Science, University College, London, United Kingdom), and L. Dijkshoorn (Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center) for assistance and discussions. We are grateful to Neil Chilton for comments on the manuscript. We also thank the following individuals who provided, or assisted in providing, some of the samples used in this study: M. Adu-Nsiah (Wildlife Division, Accra, Ghana), V. Asigri (Parasitic Diseases Research Laboratory, Tamale, Ghana), D. Laar and S. Amponsah (Ghana), and J. Blotkamp (The Netherlands).

Financial support: This study was supported by the Dutch Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO-NWO), the Australian Research Council, and the Collaborative Research Program of The University of Melbourne.

Authors’ addresses: Johanna M. de Gruijter, Jaco J. Verweij and Anton M. Polderman, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, University of Leiden, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, Telephone: 31-71-526-5081, Fax: 31-71-526-6907, E-mails: j.m.de_gruijter{at}lumc.nl, j.j.verweij{at}lumc.nl, and a.m.polderman{at}lumc.nl. Juventus Ziem, University for Development Studies, PO Box 967, Tamale, Ghana, Fax: 00-233-7122777. Robin B. Gasser, Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia, Telephone: 61-3-9731-8283, Fax: 61-3-9731-2366, E-mail: robinbg{at}unimelb.edu.au.

Reprint requests: Johanna M. de Gruijter, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, University of Leiden, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.