Molecular identification of Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Cestoda) on DNA-based

In this study on Caryophyllaeus laticeps as a fish cestode, COX1 and 18s rDNA sequences of Caryophyllaeus laticeps isolated from carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Turkey were identified for the first time. BM-COX-F, BM-COX-R, 18s-C, 18s-Y primers were used in the study. The nucleotide values in COX1 gene sequences of C. laticeps samples were 26.93-27.24% A, 26.71-26.89% T, 28.32-28.61% G, 17.32-17.91% C. Pairwise pairwise analyses showed complete agreement between COX1 sequence data of the present study samples and C. laticeps isolates (KF051117, KF051131, KF051104, KF051093, KF051127, KF051129, KF051130, JQ034070, JQ034066, KY617009, KY617001, KT781573, KT781574) registered in GenBank. All C. laticeps isolates were grouped in the same cluster in Maximum Likelihood phylogram analysis. COX1 sequence data and morphological characteristics of C. laticeps samples were evaluated together with an integrated approach method such as the combination of morphological and molecular data. According to these data, the C. laticeps specimens in the study area were reported to belong to morphotype 3 clade. As a result of the study, we contributed to the studies to determine the morphological flexibility of C. laticeps, one of the seven species of the genus Caryophyllaeus, in which five morphotypes are distinguished and to define the geographical distribution of these morphotypes.