Description, molecular characteristics and Wolbachia endosymbionts of Onchocerca borneensis Uni, Mat Udin & Takaoka n. sp. (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from the Bornean …

Background The genus Onchocerca Diesing, 1841 includes species of medical importance, such as O. volvulus (Leuckart, 1893), which causes river blindness in the tropics. Recently, zoonotic onchocercosis has been reported in humans worldwide. In Japan, O. dewittei japonica Uni, Bain & Takaoka, 2001 from wild boars is a causative agent for this zoonosis. Many filarioid nematodes are infected with Wolbachia endosymbionts which exhibit various evolutionary relationships with their hosts. While investigating the filarial fauna of Borneo, we discovered an undescribed Onchocerca species in the bearded pig Sus barbatus Müller (Cetartiodactyla: Suidae). Methods We isolated Onchocerca specimens from bearded pigs and examined their morphology. For comparative material, we collected fresh specimens of O. d. dewittei Bain, Ramachandran, Petter & …