Identification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of Marshallagia marshalli and Ostertagia gruehneri from Svalbard reindeer

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to identify two common abomasal nem atodes Marshallagia marshalli and Ostertagia gruehneri of Svalbard reindeer was developed. Species-specific PCR primers were designed from internal tr anscribed spacer (ITS)-2 sequences of rDNA and validated using morphologica lly identified adult male and female nematodes. Using the species-specific primers, a 110 bp fragment was amplified from M. marshalli and its minor mo rph Marshallagia occidentalis and a 149 bp fragment was amplified from Oste rtagia gruehneri and its minor morph Ostertagia arctica. No PCR products we re amplified from the third rare species, Teladorsagia circumcincta, or DNA from the reindeer host. The assay provides a useful tool to estimate speci es composition for both sexes in this nematode community. (C) 2000 Australi an Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.