Identification and intraspecific genetic diversity of Sarcocystis rileyi from ducks, Anas spp., in Lithuania and Finland

Macroscopic Sarcocystis cysts were detected in the muscles of 28 Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), 1 Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), and 1 Common Teal (Anas crecca) hunted in Lithuania and Finland. According to the sequences of the 18S rRNA gene, 28S rRNA gene, and ITS-1 region, the macrocysts examined from all 30 ducks belonged to Sarcocystis rileyi. This parasite was found in the Eurasian Wigeon and the Common Teal for the first time. All S. rileyi isolates examined were identical to each other and differed from 2 S. rileyi isolates previously reported from 2 Mallards from the United States only by 1 nucleotide substitution within the ITS-1 regionBiologijos katedraGamtos tyrimų centrasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta