Isoenzyme studies on cercariae from monoinfections and adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni (10 isolates) and S. rodhaini (one isolate) by horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and staining of eight enzymes.

The enzyme phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), phosphoglucomutase (PGM), hexokinase (HK), adenylate kinase (AK), fructokinase (FK), mannose-6-phosphate isomerase (MPI), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were chosen to study the variation between isolates, cercariae and adults, individuals, and sexes of Schistosoma mansoni and S. rodhaini, using horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The method described allows combinations of six of the eight enzymes to be scored in the homogenate from one adult worm. In adult S. mansoni one phenotype of the eight enzymes was observed in all isolates. In addition, the enzyme PGI showed polymorphism in the isolates from Tala, Kenya and Uganda. PGM in the isolates from Tala, Kenya and South Africa showed polymorphism. The cercarial phenotype differs from the adult phenotype in G-6-PDH, where the cercarial enzyme mobility is slower than that in the adult worm. The low amount of intrastrain variation observed in this species is explained by the limited amount of material used to establish the laboratory stocks, whereas the genetic similarity between geographically widely separated stocks does suggest that only limited geographical variation is likely to occur in S. mansoni. It is suggested that the gene controlling the PGI polymorphism is located on the sex chromosomes of S. mansoni. Mobility differences were observed between S. mansoni and S. rodhaini in the enzyme PGI and PGM, and these characteristics might be useful for a quick identification of schistosome cercariae emerging from Biomphalaria sp. in Africa.U