Anatomical and molecular characterization of some rhigonematid parasites of millipedes in Nigeria, with new insights into their phylogeny.
O A FabiyiT T BelloG LiébanasI Clavero-CamachoC Cantalapiedra-NavarreteA Archidona-YusteJ E Palomares-RiusD J HuntPablo CastilloPublished in: Journal of helminthology (2023)
Parasitic nematodes of millipedes from Nigeria are molecularly characterized for the first time. During nematode surveys on live giant African millipedes from several localities in Nigeria, 4 species of rhigonematids were identified by application of integrative taxonomical approaches (morpho-anatomy and molecular markers), including Brumptaemilius sp., Gilsonema gabonensis , Obainia pachnephorus , and Rhigonema disparovis. The results of morphometric and molecular analyses of D2-D3 28S, ITS, partial 18S rRNA, and cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI) gene sequences further characterized the rhigonematid species, and clearly separated them from other related species. Phylogenetic relationships based on 28S and 18S rRNA genes suggest that genera within Ransomnematoidea ( Ransomnema , Heth , Carnoya , Brumptaemilius , Cattiena , Insulanema , Gilsonema ) and Rhigonematoidea ( Rhigonema , Obainia , Xystrognathus , Trachyglossoides , Ichthyocephaloides ) clustered rather closer than could be expected in view of their morphological differences. Phylogenetic relationships based on ITS and COI are congruent with those of other ribosomal genes; however, they are not conclusive due to the scarcity of available sequences of these genes for these genera in NCBI.