MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF ECHINOSTOMA-CAPRONI AND E-PARAENSEI BY RANDOM AMPLIFICATION OF POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) ANALYSIS

Genomic DNA from Echinostoma caproni and Echinostoma paraensei was amp lified by the polymerase chain reaction using primers (5'-TCGTAGCCAA a nd 5'-TCACGATGCA), originally found to differentiate species and strai n of Schistosoma. The 2 putative species of Echinostoma produced disti nct banding patterns clearly distinguishable from one another, thereby suggesting that RAPD (random amplification of polymorphic DNA) analys is may be useful for the identification of echinostome strains and spe cies previously misunderstood or undescribed, and that primers develop ed for species within a given genus, e.g., Schistosoma, may have broad er application in identifying other trematodes.