Molecular Characterization of <i>Ctenotaenia marmotae</i> (Frölich, 1802) Railliet, 1893 (Cyclophyllidea: Anoplocephalidae) Parasitizing Rodents of the Genus <i>Marmota</i> and <i>Spermophilus</i> from Eurasia
Anton Krivopalov,
Sergey Abramov,
Lyudmila Akimova,
Alina Barkhatova,
Anton Gromov,
Sergey Konyaev,
Natalia Lopatina,
Anna Sidorovich,
Egor Vlasov,
Pavel Vlasenko,
Vadim Zinchenko
Affiliations
Anton Krivopalov
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Sergey Abramov
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Lyudmila Akimova
State Research and Production Association, Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Bioresources, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
Alina Barkhatova
National Research Tomsk State University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
Anton Gromov
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, The Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Sergey Konyaev
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Natalia Lopatina
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Anna Sidorovich
State Research and Production Association, Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Bioresources, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
Egor Vlasov
V.V. Alekhin Central-Chernozem State Nature Biosphere Reserve, 305528 Zapovednyi, Russia
Pavel Vlasenko
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Vadim Zinchenko
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630091 Novosibirsk, Russia
Cestodes Ctenotaenia marmotae are a widespread parasite of Eurasian ground squirrels. Being the only valid species of its genus, it has been recorded in ten host species from the genera Marmota and Spermophilus. Its definitive hosts live in similar ecological conditions and their area covers a wide geographical territory. Therefore, it remained unclear whether C. marmotae is a single species and how high the level of its genetic variability is. The present study analyzed the variability of two mitochondrial cestode genes from four host species from geographically distant localities. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the newly obtained sequences form a species-level clade with already known sequences from the GenBank. Small genetic distances between the studied sequences indicate low intraspecific genetic variability within the C. marmotae, which may be a consequence of rapid expansion of the cestodes in ground squirrel species inhabiting the flat and mountain steppe landscapes in the past.
