Molecular identification of two cestodes species parasitizing freshwater fishes in India.

In the present study, molecular identification of two species of cestodes, Lytocestus indicus and Senga lucknowensis infecting freshwater fishes Clarias magur and Channa punctata, respectively in Manipur is carried out. To ascertain the taxonomic status of these helminth parasites, 18S gene marker was used. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S of Lytocestus sp. showed that it claded with L. indicus from Indian Isolate with a sequence similarity index of 99%. In case of Senga sp., the phylogenetic analysis revealed that it formed a separate clade with S. lucknowensis and Senga vishakapatnamensis, and the sequence similarity index showed maximum homogeneity with S. lucknowensis i.e., 99.8%. Thus, molecular characterization revealed that the two species of cestodes belong to L. indicus and S. lucknowensis.