Assessing the genetic diversity of the metacercariae of Posthodiplostomum minimum (Trematoda: Diplostomidae) in Middle American freshwater fishes: one species or more?

ABSTRACT: Trematode taxonomy is mainly based on the morphological traits of adults. The identification of metacercariae is challenging because such traits are not developed in larval forms, and they even may show some level of morphological variability. Studies testing the potential correspondence between morphological differences and genetic variation of parasites are still lacking. The metacercariae of Posthodiplostomum minimum are probably the diplostomids more widely distributed in North and Middle American freshwater fish, and their intraspecific morphological variability has been attributed to the effect exerted by the host. Here, we tested the hypothesis whether they represent a single species, or a species complex by assessing the genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships of metacerc

SUBMITTER: Perez-Ponce de Leon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11010490 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature