Population genetic structure of Ascaridia galli of extensively raised chickens of South Africa

• Ascaridia galli parasites from village chickens were characterized using COX1 gene.
• There was no diversity between A. galli from different provinces of South Africa.
• South African haplotypes were unique compared to those published in the GeneBank.
• Cox 1 gene is a useful marker for studying A. galli in village chickens.

Ascaridia galli is one of the most common nematode affecting chickens. This study characterized A. galli parasites collected from South African village chickens of Limpopo (n = 18) and KwaZulu-Natal (n = 22) provinces using the 510 bp sequences of cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 gene of the mitochondrial DNA. Fourteen and 12 polymorphic sites were observed for Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal sequences, respectively. Six haplotypes were observed in total. Haplotype diversity was high and ranged from 0.749 for Limpopo province to 0.758 for KwaZulu-Natal province isolates. There was no genetic differentiation between A. galli from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The six South African haplotypes were unique compared to those published in the GeneBank sampled from Hy-line chickens raised under organic farming in Denmark. The utility of cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 gene as a potential genetic marker for studying A. galli in village chicken populations is presented.