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Molecular phylogeny of the pinworms of mice, rats and rabbits, and its use to develop molecular beacon assays for the detection of pinworms in mice

Lab Animal volume 36, pages 43–50 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Though pinworm infestation has been prevalent since the early years of laboratory animal medicine, the genomes of these parasites have not yet been sequenced. The authors used high-fidelity polymerase chain reaction to amplify a large portion of the ribosomal gene complex of four pinworm species commonly found in lab rodents and rabbits (Aspiculuris tetraptera, Passalurus ambiguus, Syphacia muris and Syphacia obvelata). They determined DNA sequences for these complexes and carried out phylogenetic analysis. Using this information, the authors developed real-time molecular beacon assays for pinworm detection, comparing the new diagnostic approach with traditional methods such as perianal tape testing, fecal flotation and direct examination of intestinal content.

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Figure 1: Phylogram showing relationship of rodent and rabbit pinworms to other parasitic nematodes.
Figure 2: The limits of detection for molecular beacon assays targeting A. tetraptera (upper panel) and S. obvelata (lower panel).

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Acknowledgements

We thank the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine Foundation and the Carilion Biomedical Institute for their generous support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Comparative Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22908, VA

    Sanford H. Feldman & Susan G. Bowman

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  1. Sanford H. Feldman
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  2. Susan G. Bowman
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Correspondence to Sanford H. Feldman.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Feldman, S., Bowman, S. Molecular phylogeny of the pinworms of mice, rats and rabbits, and its use to develop molecular beacon assays for the detection of pinworms in mice. Lab Anim 36, 43–50 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban1007-43

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