First Molecular Characterization of Adult Physaloptera praeputialis von Linstow, 1889, Infecting African Lion (Panthera leo) in Tanzania

Ndossi, Barakaeli Abdieli and Mjingo, Eblate Ernest and Mdaki, Maulid Mzinga and Zebedayo, Marry Wokusima and Bia, Mohammed Mebarek and Yang, Heejae and Eom, Keeseon (2026) First Molecular Characterization of Adult Physaloptera praeputialis von Linstow, 1889, Infecting African Lion (Panthera leo) in Tanzania. World's Veterinary Journal. 495 - 507. ISSN 23224568

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Abstract

Physalopterid nematodes are common gastric parasites of carnivorous mammals, yet their diversity, host associations, and evolutionary relationships in African wildlife remain poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the adult Physaloptera specimens recovered from African lions (Panthera leo) in the Serengeti National Park in the Mara region, Tanzania, using morphological and molecular techniques. Seven non-captive lions comprising three males and four females were opportunistically necropsied between 2023 and 2025. The sampled lions included two subadults (4-5 years), three prime adults (6-9 years), and two older individuals (10-14 years). A total of 157 adult spirurid nematodes were recovered from three infected hosts with infection intensities ranging from 48 to 57 worms per host. Morphometric characterizations, such as cephalic collarette structures, marked unequal spicules, well-developed caudal alae in males, and an anterior positioned vulva in females, together with typical eggs, were consistent with Physaloptera praeputialis. Nuclear 18S rRNA sequences showed high similarity of 98-99.5 to P. praeputialis reference sequences. In contrast, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (Cox1) sequences formed a distinct lineage, exhibiting approximately 12 divergence from available P. praeputialis sequences retrieved from the GenBank database at the time of analysis. A molecularly characterized record of adult Physaloptera from an African lion in Tanzania is presented, revealing previously unrecognized genetic diversity among African physiolopterids. Findings highlight the role of apex predators as indicator hosts in trophic parasite transmission and emphasize the importance of multilocus approaches for resolving spirurid taxonomy, parasite biogeography, and host�parasite associations in wildlife ecosystems. © The Author(s) 2026 Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	African lion; Molecular characterization; Parasitic nematode; Phylogenetic; Serengeti ecosystem
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	World's Veterinary Journal (WVJ)
Page Range:	495 - 507
Journal or Publication Title:	World's Veterinary Journal
Journal Index:	Scopus
Volume:	16
Number:	2
Publisher:	Scienceline Publication
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.54203/scil.2026.wvj47
ISSN:	23224568
Depositing User:	Dr. Alireza Sadeghi
URI:	https://eprints.science-line.com/id/eprint/1747

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