USE OF RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) FOR GENERATING SPECIFIC DNA PROBES FOR OXYUROID SPECIES (NEMATODA)

Random amplified DNA markers (RAPD; Williams et al., 1990) were used t o obtained specific RAPD fragments characterising different species oi oxyuroids. We tested six species of worms parasitizing vertebrates or invertebrates: Passalurus ambiguus Rudolphi, 1819, parasite oi Lepori ds; Syphacia obvelata (Rudophi, 1802) Seurat, 1916, a parasite of rode nts, Blatticola blattae (Graeffe, 1860) Chitwood, 1932 parasite of the cockroach Blattella germanica; Hammerschmidtiella diesingi (Hammersch midt, 1838) Chitwood, 1932 and Thelastoma bulhoesi (Magalhaes, 1990) T ravassos, 1929, parasites of the cockroach Periplaneta americana, and an undescribed parasite species of a passalid insect from New Caledoni a. Among 15 oligonucleotides tested, nine produced several specific bo nds allowing the interspecific discrimination.