Molecular Identification of Protozoan Sarcocystis in Different Types of Water Bodies in Lithuania

Representatives of the genus are unicellular parasites having a two-host life cycle and infecting mammals, birds, and reptiles. Until now, spp. have been mainly investigated in definitive and intermediate hosts. Only a few studies have been conducted on the detection of parasites in water samples. The aim of this research was to examine whether the prevalence of spp. parasitizing farm animals varies in different types of water bodies. Water samples ( = 150) were collected from the entire territory of Lithuania, dividing water bodies into five groups (lakes, rivers, ponds/canals, swamps, and the inshore zone of the territorial Baltic Sea area). One-liter samples were filtered and subsequently analyzed using nested PCR. At least one of the analyzed spp. ( . , . , . , . , . , . , . , and . ) was determined in all examined samples from water bodies. No significant difference in spp. prevalence between different types of water sources was detected. Our research proved that selecting appropriate primers is important for the accurate identification of parasites in samples collected from water bodies.