ZS 2021 Vol. 60-31

Vol. 60, 2021

(update: 2021.04.12; 07.02)

Population Genetics Analysis of a Pomacea Snail (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) in Thailand and its Low Infection by Angiostrongylus cantonensis

Abdulhakam Dumidae¹, Pichamon Janthu¹, Chanakan Subkrasae¹, Raxsina Polseela¹, Bandid Mangkit², Aunchalee Thanwisai^1,3,4, and Apichat Vitta^1,3,4,*

^{doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-31}

¹Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand. E-mail: atp1951@hotmail.com (Dumidae); pichamonj56@email.nu.ac.th (Janthu); c.chanajj@gmail.com (Subkrasae); raxsinap@nu.ac.th (Polseela)
²Department of Veterinary Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. E-mail: fvetbdm@ku.ac.th (Mangkit)
³Centre of Excellence in Medical Biotechnology (CEMB), Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand. E-mail: aunchaleet@nu.ac.th (Thanwisai)
⁴Center of Excellence for Biodiversity, Faculty of Sciences, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand. *Correspondence: E-mail: apichatv@nu.ac.th (Vitta). Tel: +66 55 964653. Fax: +66 55 964770

Received 3 October 2020 / Accepted 1 April 2021
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

Pomacea is a freshwater snail in family Ampullariidae that is native to South and Central America. This snail is among the more important intermediate hosts for Angiostrongylus cantonensis and agricultural pests. Herein, we investigated the prevalence of A. cantonensis larvae and the genetic diversity of Pomacea samples collected across Thailand based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences. The larval-infection rate was 1.7% in Pomacea canaliculata specimens collected from the Uttaradit Province of northern Thailand. We randomly selected specimens of P. canaliculata and P. maculata for genetic analysis. We analyzed 244 COI sequences, including 49 sequences from samples collected from Thailand and a publicly accessible database of snails in their native and non-native ranges. A maximum-likelihood tree of P. canaliculata and P. maculata revealed two main clades. The genetic diversity analysis identified seven P. canaliculata haplotypes and six P. maculata haplotypes, and showed genetic differences between the populations of P. canaliculata and P. maculata. The haplotype networks of P. canaliculata and P. maculata populations in Thailand are similar to those of populations in multiple countries, indicating that this species spread widely to many parts of the world.

Key words: Angiostrongylus, Genetic diversity, Phylogeny, Haplotype, Pomacea.

Citation: Dumidae A, Janthu P, Subkrasae C, Polseela R, Mangkit B, Thanwisai A, Vitta A. 2021. Population genetics analysis of a Pomacea snail (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) in Thailand and its low infection by Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Zool Stud 60:31. doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-31.