Copro-Molecular Identification of Tapeworms in Introduced Invasive Carnivores in Poland.

ABSTRACT: The raccoon (Procyon lotor) and the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) were introduced to Europe and, in the past decades, their populations have increased and adapted to synanthropic environments across Europe. In view of their possible further spread in Europe, the invasive species should be examined as potential reservoirs for helminths, including tapeworms. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and diversity of tapeworms in introduced wild carnivores in Poland by identifying cestode species based on copro-DNA analysis. A total of 214 individual fecal samples from non-native invasive carnivores, i.e., raccoons and raccoon dogs, and additionally 47 samples from native carnivores, i.e., European badgers (Meles meles), were analyzed for the presence of cestodes. PCR analysis of

SUBMITTER: Bunkowska-Gawlik K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8876669 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature