Molecular and phylogenetic study on Toxocara vitulorum from cattle in the mid-Delta of Egypt

Toxocara vitulorum is an important intestinal nematode that commonly infects ruminants world-wide, notably in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In Egypt, T. vitulorum has a high prevalence rate in cattle and buffaloes calves. The current work aims to identify and verify T. vitulorum collected from cattle in El-Mahlla El-Kubra city in the mid-Delta of Egypt, using molecular and phylogenetic tools. The first internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1) and 18S genes of ribosomal DNA were amplified, sequenced, and compared with nucleotide sequences deposited in data bases, and also used to construct the phylogenetic trees. Our results confirm that T. vitulorum isolated from cattle in Egypt is genetically identical to those recorded in other countries. Moreover, the phylogenetic trees show a close relationship among different species of Toxocara, including the zoonotic species. Our results show that ITS genes can be targeted as genetic markers to diagnose and discriminate among different Toxocara spp. The data presented here may be helpful in the pursuit of further molecular and genetic studies of Toxocara species.