en انگل شناسي Parasitology پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:150%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span></span></b></span></span></span><strong>Background: </strong>Trichostrongylus is an intestinal parasite that is highly prevalent in humans and livestock worldwide. There is limited information about the prevalence and epidemiology of Trichostrongylus species among the infected livestock in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. This study aimed to identify Trichostrongylus spp. among small ruminants using morphometric and molecular methods.<br> <strong>Materials and Methods:</strong> Small intestinal organs of sheep and goats, slaughtered in Mazandaran Province, were examined for infectivity with Trichostrongylus parasites. Primary species identification was conducted based on the morphological characterization of the male worms. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) II regions of the ribosomal DNA of the worm tissues were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and then the product was subjected to sequencing. Subsequently, the PCR products of the ITS II region were subjected to digestion by HinfI and DraI restriction enzymes using the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results:</strong> Of 180 samples, 98 (54.44%) were confirmed positive for Trichostrongylus based on the conventional PCR. The digestion of the PCR products with HinfI and DraI facilitated the identification of three Trichostrongylus species, namely Trichostrongylus colubriformis (35%, 90.81%), Trichostrongylus axei (4%, 4.08%), and Trichostrongylus vitrinus (5%, 5.1%). Both morphometric and RFLP techniques resulted in the differentiation of the three Trichostrongylus species.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The present study was the 1st attempt in the last 30 years for the identification of Trichostrongylus species in small ruminants in Mazandaran Province. The findings of this study can be helpful for epidemiological and ecological studies, the establishment of effective control programs, and the management of gastrointestinal parasites in Mazandaran Province.</div> Trichostrongylus, PCR-RFLP, Ruminants, Mazandaran Province 57 64 http://rmm.mazums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1248-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ali Bakooie Katrimi alibakooie@gmail.com 100319475328460010972 100319475328460010972 No Mazandaran Central Veterinary Laboratory, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Sari, Iran Naser Hoghooghi-Rad hoghooghiradnasser@yahoo.com 100319475328460010973 100319475328460010973 No Department of Parasitology, School of Specialized Science of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Azadeh Mizani azadeh.mizani@live.com 100319475328460010974 100319475328460010974 No Department of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Afsaneh Amouei afsane.amoueia@yahoo.com 100319475328460010975 100319475328460010975 No Mazandaran Central Veterinary Laboratory, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Sari, Iran Shahrokh Ranjbar-Bahadori bahadory_2000@yahoo.com 100319475328460010976 100319475328460010976 No Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran Ali Eslami aislami@ut.ac.ir 100319475328460010977 100319475328460010977 No 6 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran Mehdi Mehralinezhad Shiadeh mehralinezhad@gmail.com 100319475328460010978 100319475328460010978 No Research Center of Poultry Diseases, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Medical Sciences, Qaem Shahr, Iran Bahram Laktarashi bahramlaktarashi@gmail.com 100319475328460010979 100319475328460010979 No Research Center of Poultry Diseases, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Medical Sciences, Qaem Shahr, Iran Saeid Salehi saeid_salehi_e@yahoo.com 100319475328460010980 100319475328460010980 No Mazandaran Provincial Veterinary Department, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Sari, Iran Tooran Nayeri Chegini tooran.nayeri@gmail.com 100319475328460010981 100319475328460010981 No Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Zahra Hosseininejad hoseini125@yahoo.com 100319475328460010982 100319475328460010982 No Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Amir Hossein Pourmand amir.pourmand37@gmail.com 100319475328460010983 100319475328460010983 No Mazandaran Central Veterinary Laboratory, Medical Sciences, Veterinary Administration of Mazandaran Province, Sari, Iran Mehdi Sharif msharifmahdi@yahoo.com 100319475328460010984 100319475328460010984 No Hospital Administration Research Center, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran Ahmad Daryani daryanii@yahoo.com 100319475328460010985 100319475328460010985 No Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Shahabeddin Sarvi shahabesarvi@yahoo.com 100319475328460010986 100319475328460010986 No Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Shirzad Gholami sgholami200@gmail.com 100319475328460010987 100319475328460010987 Yes Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran