Morphological and Phylogenetic Analysis of Raillietina sp. Infecting Domestic Pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Zoology Department, Science Faculty, Sohag University, Sohag 52824, Egypt.

2 Department of Biology, College of Science, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia.

3 Department of Computer Science, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11653, Saudi Arabia.

4 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Common tapeworms in poultry digestive tracts are called Raillietina species. The present study's objective is to characterize the morphological and genetic relationships between the cestode parasites that infect domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Saudi Arabia's Al-Qassim Region. Using optical and scanning electron microscopes, the general morphology and surface characteristics of the collected cestode parasites were examined. Using sequences from the ND1 and 18S rDNA gene areas, molecular analysis was used to confirm the taxonomy of this parasite based on its morphological characteristics.  This demonstrated a high degree of similarity—up to 98.0% and 74.7%, respectively between the 18S rDNA and ND1 gene regions and other cestode species found in GenBank. Using close ties, phylogenetic research validated the placement of this Raillietina species within Davaineidae.

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