Improved molecular identification of Strongyloides myopotami in nutrias using fecal samples

Abstract

Strongyloides myopotami is an intestinal nematode parasite of nutrias. Identification of S. myopotami is conducted based on the morphological characteristics of adult worms or cultured larvae. To widely and effectively understand the infection in nutrias, it would be preferable to develop the molecular identification using a few grams of the feces. Here, we attempted to identify S. myopotami using DNA extracted from eggs obtained from fecal samples. Among previously reported primer pairs targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Strongyloides spp., most could not be successful. We newly designed primers that successfully amplified the partial sequences in S. myopotami, resulting in being sequenced. Our simple protocol can be useful in nationwide surveys for clarifying the risk of human infection.