DNA barcoding of Anoplocephala perfoliata derived from a draft horse (Ban’ei horse) in Hokkaido, Japan

A two-year-old male Japanese draft horse (known as a “Ban’ei horse”) excreted eight cestodes. Based on their morphological features, they were identified as Anoplocephala perfoliata. The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences of the worms were nearly identical to A. perfoliata isolated from horses in Europe. The results of phylogenetic analyses of COI revealed that our samples and the European isolates formed the same clade, which was separate from Chinese and Australian isolates. Ban’ei horses were developed by crossbreeding draft horses imported from European countries in the 1900s. Our results suggest that A. perfoliata was transported to Hokkaido with horses from Europe. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. perfoliata infection in a Japanese draft horse.