Genetic Diversity of Echinococcus granulosus Isolated from Humans: A Comparative Study in Two Cystic Echinococcosis Endemic Areas, Turkey and Iran

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most important zoonotic parasitic diseases caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. Based on molecular studies and DNA sequencing, E. granulosus has been classified into 10 different genotypes (G1 to G10). Two neighboring countries, Turkey and Iran, are considered the two main foci of CE in the Middle East. The current study is aimed at examining the genotype diversity of E. granulosus isolated from human clinical samples in Turkey and Iran. Surgically removed human hydatid cysts were collected from East Azerbaijan and Fars provinces in Iran and Van province in Turkey. After extracting DNA, performing PCR, targeting the cox1 gene, the PCR products were purified from the gel and were sequenced from both directions. The sequences were aligned and compared, using BioEdit and also the BLAST program of GenBank. The maximum likelihood tree was constructed based on the Tamura-Nei model, using the MEGAX software. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the human isolated samples were classified into two major clades: G1 (from Iran and Turkey) and G3 (5 samples from northwestern Iran and one sample from Turkey). The mean and degree of genetic divergence (K2P) between the two major clades, G1 and G3, were 0.2% and 0.7±0.4%, respectively. The findings of the current study revealed that the sheep strain (G1) and the less important strain G3 have major roles in the transmission cycle of CE in two neighboring countries, Iran and Turkey. Therefore, it is necessary to interpose the life cycle of this parasite and reduce the disease burden in livestock and humans by adopting common regional preventive and control policies.