PAKISTAN VETERINARY JOURNAL

Pak Vet J, xxxx, xx(x) xxx-xxx

Global Scale Insights into Genetic Variation in Mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 Genes of Clonorchis sinensis

Shahbaz ul Haq^1¶, Talha Javaid^2¶, Majed H. Wakid^3,4, Muhammad Wasim Usmani⁵, Muhammad Saqib², Muhammad Abdullah Malik⁶, Shujaat Hussain⁷, Safia Obaidur Rab⁸, Mohd Saeed⁹, Asif Ali Butt¹⁰, Fenfei Gao^1*, Hong-Bin Yan^11*, Li Li¹¹ and Mughees Aizaz Alvi^2*

¹Department of Pharmacology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 51504, China; ²Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan; ³Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; ⁴Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; ⁵Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, China; ⁶Department of Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan; ⁷Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; ⁸Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia; ⁹Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia; ¹⁰Riphah International University, Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad, Pakistan; ¹¹State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Gansu Province Research Center for Basic Disciplines of Pathogen Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology and Key Laboratory of Ruminant Disease Prevention and Control (West), Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, National Para-reference Laboratory for Animal Echinococcosis, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, P.R. China.

*Corresponding author: ffgao@stu.edu.cn; yanhongbin@caas.cn; mugheesaizazalvi@gmail.com

Abstract

Clonorchiasis is a food-borne zoonoses caused by Clonorchis (C.) sinensis. Human infection occurs through consumption of raw or undercooked fish containing metacercaria, an infective stage that can persist for 20 years, leading to chronic diseases. Few studies have been conducted on C. sinensis based on population structure, and even fewer have been conducted on molecular characterization. The goal of the current study was to provide epidemiological information on the global population structure of the parasite. After obtaining the cox1 and nad1 genes sequences from the NCBI GenBank database, median-joining networks were constructed using PopArt software. The neutrality and diversity indexes were computed using the DnaSp software. We also calculated neutrality and diversity indices based on host and geographic location. In the NCBI database, there were 209 nad1 and 275 cox1 gene sequences. After removing short gene sequences, bioinformatic analysis was performed using 251 cox1 and 189 nad1 gene sequences. The cox1 and nad1 genes were shown to have 40 and 42 parsimony informative sites, 87 and 73 haplotypes, and 82 mutations, respectively. We found negative and statistically significant Tajima's D (cox1=-2.41336 and nad1=-2.50463), Fu’s Fs values were negative but did not reach statistical significance (cox1=-32.908, nad1=-107.788), and high diversity (cox1 Hd=0.948, π=0.00317; nad1 Hd=0.9192, π=0.00293). South Korean isolates exhibited the highest haplotype diversity for both genes, with Chinese and Russian isolates following closely behind. A statistically significant overall negative Tajima's D value was found for both genes based on host-wise data analysis. According to the study's findings, high diversity and negative neutrality indices indicate that C. sinensis population diversity will increase globally. The results of the investigation will contribute to the current understanding of the population structure of C. sinensis, for which there is a dearth of data. To have a better understanding of the parasite's epidemiology, we recommend conducting more research using a number of genetic markers.

To Cite This Article: Haq S, Javaid T, Wakid MH, Usmani MW, Saqib M, Malik MA, Hussain S, Rab SO, Saeed M, Butt AA, Gao F, Yan HB, Li L and Alvi MA, 2025. Global Scale Insights into Genetic Variation in Mitochondrial Cox1 and Nad1 Genes of Clonorchis sinensis. Pak Vet J. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2025.153

Abstract

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)
ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)