Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan

Osman, Arwa; Andrus, Peter S.; Fang, Yuan; Elhassan, Ibrahim; Zhou, Xiaonong; Nour, Bakri Y. M.; Zhao, Liming

doi:10.3390/ijms26199567

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Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan

by

Arwa Osman

^1,2

,

Peter S. Andrus

^3,4

,

Yuan Fang

³,

Ibrahim Elhassan

^5,6,

Xiaonong Zhou

^3,4,

Bakri Y. M. Nour

⁷ and

Liming Zhao

^1,*

¹

State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China

²

Blue Nile National Institute for Communicable Diseases, University of Gezira, Wad Madani P.O. Box 20, Sudan

³

National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), Shanghai 200025, China

⁴

School of Global Health, Chinese Centre for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China

⁵

Department of Immunology and Parasitology, Copenhagen University, 1172 København, Denmark

⁶

Department of Parasitology, Endemic Diseases Institute, University of Khartoum, Khartoum 11115, Sudan

⁷

Faculty of Medical Laboratories, University of Gezira, Wad Madani P.O. Box 20, Sudan

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(19), 9567; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199567

Submission received: 13 August 2025 / Revised: 26 September 2025 / Accepted: 28 September 2025 / Published: 30 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Zoology)

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Abstract

Biomphalaria pfeifferi snails serve as the major intermediate host for intestinal schistosomiasis in Sudan. The genetic structure and infection status of 163 B. pfeifferi collected from six localities in Gezira State, Sudan (East Gezira, Greater Wadmedani, Hasahisa, North Umelgura, South Gezira, and Managil) were characterized. Cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) mitochondrial genes were used for B. pfeifferi molecular identification and genetic diversity investigation. Schistosoma mansoni infection was detected using the traditional cercarial shedding and molecular methods (Sm^F/R primers). Five COI haplotypes and ten 16S haplotypes were identified, with haplotype diversity of 0.50 for COI and 0.11 for 16S. High evolutionary divergence was observed between groups (Fst = 0.94) for the COI, and low genetic divergence (Fst = 0.04) for the 16S, indicating genetic divergence among Sudanese B. pfeifferi, with the 16S showing lower divergence than the COI, consistent with a post-bottleneck population expansion. Cercarial shedding detected an overall infection prevalence of 3.6% (8/219), with only two snails from Hasahisa shedding S. mansoni cercariae. The Sm^F/R primers revealed a higher infection prevalence of 7.4% (12/163), with all S. mansoni positive samples found at the Hasahisa site. Findings highlight the value of molecular diagnostic tools for accurate surveillance and emphasize the need for site-specific control strategies.

Keywords: genetic diversity; Biomphalaria pfeifferi; Schistosoma mansoni; mitochondrial population genetics; molecular xenomonitoring; Gezira State; Sudan

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MDPI and ACS Style

Osman, A.; Andrus, P.S.; Fang, Y.; Elhassan, I.; Zhou, X.; Nour, B.Y.M.; Zhao, L. Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 9567. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199567

AMA Style

Osman A, Andrus PS, Fang Y, Elhassan I, Zhou X, Nour BYM, Zhao L. Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(19):9567. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199567

Chicago/Turabian Style

Osman, Arwa, Peter S. Andrus, Yuan Fang, Ibrahim Elhassan, Xiaonong Zhou, Bakri Y. M. Nour, and Liming Zhao. 2025. "Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 19: 9567. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199567

APA Style

Osman, A., Andrus, P. S., Fang, Y., Elhassan, I., Zhou, X., Nour, B. Y. M., & Zhao, L. (2025). Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(19), 9567. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199567

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Genetic Diversity and Infection Prevalence of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma mansoni in Gezira State, Sudan

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