Genetic diversity of Taenia hydatigena in the northern part of the West Bank, Palestine as determined by mitochondrial DNA sequences

Cysticercus tenuicollis is the metacestode of canine tapeworm Taenia hydatigena , which has been reported in domestic and wild ruminants and is causing veterinary and economic losses in the meat industry. This study was conducted to determine the sequence variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 ( cox1 ) gene in 20 isolates of T. hydatigena metacestodes (cysticercus tenuicollis) collected from northern West Bank in Palestine. Nine haplotypes were detected, with one prevailing (55%). The total haplotype diversity (0.705) and the total nucleotide diversity (0.0045) displayed low genetic diversity among our isolates. Haplotype analysis showed a star-shaped network with a centrally positioned common haplotype. The Tajima’s D, and Fu and Li’s statistics in cysticercus tenuicollis population of this region showed a negative value, indicating deviations from neutrality and both suggested recent population expansion for the population. The findings of this study would greatly help to implement control and preventive measures for T. hydatigena larvae infection in Palestine.