Molecular Identification of Neoechinorhynchus iraqensis (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae) from Planiliza abu in Darbandikhan Lake

A total of 100 fishes belonged to Planiliza abu (Heckel, 1843) were taken from Darbandikhan Lake in Sulaimani Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from December 2023 to February 2024. The fish were checked for parasitic acanthocephalan. The research showed that Neoechinorhynchus iraqensis existed. In this study, 18S rDNA and DNA sequencing were used to identify N. iraqensis. The findings of the molecular analysis show that 533 bp was the PCR product of N. iraqensis and observed the smallest genetic distance with Neoechinorhynchus sp. GL-2015 (KU363972.1) and Neoechinorhynchus sp. XL-2014 (KM507363.1) was (0.025), and the highest genetic distance was recorded with Tenuisentis niloticus (MZ727194.1) was (0.194). Neighbor - Joining trees inferred for 18S rDNA showed that N. iraqensis as a separate clade in the trees, demonstrating that this species originated in Iraq. This finding indicates that the species is the same species that was morphologically identified and described for the first time in Iraq.