Utilization of rDNA ITS2 Region to Characterized the Metacercaria of Paragonimus heterotremus (Family: Paragonimidae) Parasitizing Crab Host in Manipur, India

Freshwater crabs, Potamiscus manipuriensis in Manipur, Northeast India harbour trematode metacercariae of family Paragonimidae which was identified as Paragonimus sp. based on morphological criteria. Molecular characterization by PCR amplification of rDNA regions of inter transcribed spacers 2 was only used for molecular characterization of this metacercaria. The sequence generated from the metacercariae was compared with other species of trematode in the family Paragonimidae. The data extracted from the public domain NCBI, were analysed using BLAST and ClustalW embedded in Bioedit. The phylogenetic tree constructed based on the ITS2 marker revealed a close relationship with P. heterotremus isolates with a significant bootstrap value of 99. Hence the particular metacercaria confirmed the identification as Paragonimus heterotremus.