Single-strand conformation polymorphism-based analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 reveals significant substructuring in hookworm populations

Sequence heterogeneity in a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (pcox1) was measured for the hookworms, Ancylostoma caninum from Australia, A. duodenale from China, and Necator americanus from China and Togo using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis combined with DNA sequencing. The pcox1 sequences were characterised for individual nematodes displaying genetic variation within each of the three species, and those were compared with pcox1 sequences of four other species of hookworm. While intraspecific variation in the pcox1 sequence ranged from 0.5 to 8.6% for A. caninum, 0.3 to 3.3% forA. duodenale, and 0.3 to 4.3% for N. americanus, interspecific differences varied from 4.8 to 12.9%. Sequence data also provided information on nucleotide compositions and substitution patterns. Genetically distinct groups were detected within A. caninum and A. duodenale, indicating significant population substructuring within these species. Also, N. americanus individuals from China all differed from those from Togo at four nucleotide positions, supporting a previous proposal (based on ribosomal DNA sequence data) that N. americanus may represent a species complex. The findings indicated the value of pcox1 sequence data and the mutation scanning approach for studying the genetic structures of hookworm populations, which should have important epidemiological relevance.