Gene-based molecular characterization of and in isolated from naturally infected mice and rats in Saudi Arabia.

Mice and rats are animals commonly used in research and laboratory testing. Compared with other animal species, they harbor many more zoonotic agents. () is a common tapeworm that parasitizes both humans and rodents. Although this tapeworm is of socio-economic importance worldwide, information related to its mitochondrial genome is limited. The present study examined the sequence diversity of two mitochondrial (mt) genes, subunit I of cytochrome oxidase () and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (), of in mice and rats from two geographical regions of Saudi Arabia (Makkah and Riyadh). Partial sequences of and from individual isolates were separately amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. The GC contents of the sequences ranged between 31.6-33.5% and 27.2-28.6% for and , respectively. The genomic similarity among specimens determined via primer and primer was 97.1% and 99.7%, respectively. Based on these primers, our data did not indicate any differences between from rat and mice isolates. Results demonstrated that the present species are deeply embedded in the genus with close relationship to other species, including as a putative sister taxon, and that the isolates cannot be categorized as belonging to two different groups with origins in Makkah and Riyadh.