Further observations on the electrophoretic characterization of South African Schistosoma mattheei and S. haematobium

Abstract

Eleven enzymes, which were used to compare South African S. mattheei and S. haematobium in a former study, were employed to study intraspecific variation within S. mattheei, using starch gel electrophoresis and iso-electric focusing where resolution in starch gel was poor. Acid phosphatase varied intraspecifically within S. mattheei in that the most southern population differed from the northern populations. Malate dehydrogenase also varied intraspecifically. Three populations which occur sympatric with S. haematobium had a MDH-1 allele in common with the human schistosome while an allopatric population did not.