Host specificity and basic ecology ofMammomonogamus(Nematoda, Syngamidae) from lowland gorillas and forest elephants in Central African Republic
SUMMARYSyngamid strongylids of the genusMammomonogamusundoubtedly belong among the least known nematodes with apparent zoonotic potential and the real diversity of the genus remains hard to evaluate without extensive molecular data. Eggs ofMammomonogamussp. are frequently found in feces of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas. Using sedimentation-based coproscopic techniques, we found the eggs ofMammomonogamusin 19·7% elephant and 54·1% gorilla fecal samples with 8–55 and 1–24 eggs per gram of fecal sediment for elephants and gorillas, respectively. We used a combination of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and analysis of cytochromecoxidase subunit I (cox1) and a partial sequence of 18S rDNA isolated from single eggs to test the hypothesis of possibleMammomonogamusconspecificity in gorillas and elephants. Whereas 18S rDNA sequences were identical in both gorillas and elephants, we distinguished seven different haplotypes within thecox1. Two haplotypes were found in both gorillas and elephants suggesting sharing ofMammomonogamus.Assignment of the parasite toM. loxodontisis proposed. Provided sequences represent the first genomic data onMammomonogamusspp.