Molecular detection of Metastrongylus salmi eggs from pigs in low-resource communities in the state of Piauí, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Metastrongylosis is an infection of the respiratory tract of pigs caused by parasites of the genus Metastrongylus, whose eggs are similar to other Strongylida through light microscopy; species-specific identification can be performed with molecular tools. We explored the species composition and the genetic diversity of Metastrongylus infecting pigs in close contact with humans in impoverished rural communities in the state of Piauí, in northeastern Brazil. Fecal samples ( n = 78) were collected for parasitologic tests. Egg morphometry and molecular characterization, using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 ( cox1) gene, were performed. For strongyliform eggs, 62 of 78 (80%) pigs were positive and 6 of 99 (6%) eggs had dimensions compatible with Metastrongylus. Of the 37 samples submitted to PCR, 10 were identified as M. salmi. We found 3 M. salmi haplotypes, including 2 new and 1 described previously in Europe. Overall, M. salmi demonstrated lower intraspecific genetic diversity: diversity index (H) ± SD = 0.318 ± 0.164, n = 12, compared with published M. pudendotectus sequences (1.000 ± 0.272, n = 3). To our knowledge, M. salmi DNA sequences have not been published previously from pigs in South America.