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Characterisation and molecular detection of Echinococcus granulosus in Duhok Governorate Cover

Characterisation and molecular detection of Echinococcus granulosus in Duhok Governorate

Helminthologia
Volume 63 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)
By:  and    
Open Access
|Apr 2026
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.

The macroscopic characteristics of hydatid cysts in the human spleen highlight cyst morphology and organ involvement associated with cystic echinococcosis in humans.

Fig. 2.

Hydatid cysts in a sheep’s liver are classified into different cyst types and evaluated for their fertility.

Fig. 3.

A light microscopic image (×40 magnification) illustrating protoscolices obtained from a viable hydatid cyst in sheep liver, thereby affirming cyst viability and corroborating fertility classification.

Fig. 4.

An agarose gel electrophoresis image showing PCR amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of Echinococcus granulosus from human hydatid cyst samples, visualised under ultraviolet (UV) illumination. Lane L represents the 100 bp DNA molecular weight ladder. Lane negative control. Lanes S1–S14 correspond to human samples, with positive samples showing a distinct band at the expected size of 213 bp.

Fig. 5.

An agarose gel electrophoresis image showing PCR amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of Echinococcus granulosus from sheep hydatid cyst samples, visualised under ultraviolet (UV) illumination. Lane L represents the 100 bp DNA molecular weight ladder. Lanes S1–S17 correspond to sheep samples, with positive samples showing a distinct band at the expected size of 213 bp. The negative control shows no amplification.

Fig. 6.

Phylogenetic tree based on partial mitochondrial COI gene sequences showing the genetic relationships among Echinococcus granulosus isolates obtained from human samples and reference sequences from different geographic regions. The tree was constructed using the Maximum Likelihood method.

Fig. 7.

Phylogenetic tree based on partial mitochondrial COI gene sequences showing the genetic relationships among Echinococcus granulosus isolates obtained from sheep samples and reference sequences from different geographic regions. The tree was constructed using the Maximum Likelihood method.

Illustrated Accession number recorded by NCBI GenBank in human and explain identified percentage with another accession number, (the accessions obtained in the present study and submitted to the Gene Bank are indicated in bold)_

SpeciesAccession No.RegionExplain Identified %
E. granulosusPV775780KhankeOnly PV775780 appeared similarity in NCBI with another accession no. 97%.But PV952756 & PV972835 appeared similarity in NCBI with another by 98-100%.
E. granulosusPV952756Sinjar
E. granulosusPV972835Sinjar
E. granulosusMW881257Turkey
E. granulosusMG672257Kazakhstan
E. granulosusPV589303Sulaymaniyah
E. granulosusPV628705Zakho
E. granulosusMW599303Duhok
E. granulosusPV628704Zakho

Distribution of hydatid cysts by host, organ, and cyst type, showing predominance of liver involvement and fertile cysts in both sheep and human samples_

HostSexOrganFertileInfertileCalcifiedTotal
Animal
SheepFemaleLiver136-19
SheepMaleLiver112-13
SheepFemaleLung41-5
SheepMaleLung3--3
SheepFemaleKidney--11
Human
HumanFemaleLiver7-18
HumanMaleLiver6118
HumanMaleSpleen1--1

Illustrated Accession number recorded by NCBI GenBank in sheep and explain the identified percentage with another accession number (the accessions obtained in the present study and submitted to the Gene Bank are indicated in bold)_

SpeciesAccession no.Isolated regionSimilarity%
E. granulosusPV764748Duhok------------
E. granulosusPV769900Duhok------------
E. granulosusPV826152Zakho------------
E. granulosusPV826155Zakho------------
E. granulosusPV799411Duhok------------
E. granulosusPV826146Duhok------------
E. granulosusPV941034Zakho------------
E. granulosusPV944412Zakho------------
E. granulosusPV947963Zakho------------
E. granulosusPV972833Duhok------------
E. granulosusPV540710Duhok100%
E. granulosusOL655431Thi-qar100%
E. granulosusOK067814Iraq100%
E. granulosusPV589292Sulaymaniyah100%
E. granulosusPQ778802Zakho100%
E. granulosusMW599304Zakho98%
E. granulosusMW674790Iran98%

The designed species-specific primers of the Mt-COI gene for E_ granulosus

PrimerSequence (5'->3')No. of nucleotidesSize gene product
Mt-COI SHGCAGGGTTTGGGGTCATCAT20213bp
Mt-COI LUCCGTAACTCCCCCAAACGTA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2026-0005 | Journal eISSN: 1336-9083 | Journal ISSN: 0440-6605
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Language: English
Page range: 12 - 20
Submitted on: Nov 19, 2025
Accepted on: Mar 3, 2026
Published on: Apr 27, 2026
Published by: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: Volume open
Keywords:
E. granulosus,
molecular detection,
phylogenetic tree analysis
Related subjects:
Life sciences,
Zoology,
Ecology,
Life sciences, other,
Medicine,
Clinical medicine,
Microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology

© 2026 L. H. HUSSEIN, S. A. AL-MUFFTI, published by Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 63 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)
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