Can avian flyways reflect dispersal barriers of clinostomid parasites? First evidence from the mitogenome of Clinostomum complanatum
Monnens, M.; Halajian, A.; Littlewood, D.T.J.; Briscoe, A.G.; Artois, T.; Vanhove, M.P.M. (2023). Can avian flyways reflect dispersal barriers of clinostomid parasites? First evidence from the mitogenome of Clinostomum complanatum. Gene 851: 146952. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2022.146952
Clinostomum complanatum (Rudolphi, 1814) is an economically important parasitic flatworm (Trematoda, Digenea), yet little is known on the population structure of these animals. We characterise a new mitochondrial genome for C. complanatum, derived from an Iranian specimen. The newly obtained sequence is used to position the species in the digenean tree of life. The first-ever intraspecific comparison at mitogenome scale within C. complanatum revealed a high degree of similarity to the previously sequenced mitogenome of a distant (Italian) population. Avian migratory routes mirror phylogenetic clustering, and hence we suggest that infection of a flying host enables genetic exchange between parasites across large geographic distances. Comparative mitogenomic work in Clinostomum spp. at both the intra- (C. complanatum) and interspecific (C. complanatum–C. sinensis) level further shows that usage of new and/or additional mitochondrial markers is preferred over single-gene methods for high-resolution diagnostics and population biology.
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