Morphological Characteristics and Molecular Identification of Cestode: Taenia taeniaformis in Domestic Cats in Vietnam

Taenia taeniaformis is a unique tapeworm found in cats.However, limited information on this worm isolated from domestic cats has been documented, including morphological and molecular data on its adult stage.This study aimed to describe the morphological characteristics of T. taeniaformis and molecularly identify this tapeworm based on mitochondrial markers.Sixty-one intact adult worms were selected for measurement, specimen preparation, and subsequent observation of morphological characteristics of the scolex, neck, and proglottids.All tapeworms were then subjected to PCR assays to amplify partial cox1 and 12S rRNA genes.Sequencing techniques were used to sequence the two PCR products amplified from each marker.In results, the mean length of adult tapeworms was 10.57cm, with widths ranging from 0.2 to 0.45cm.The scolex possessed a rostellum armed with double rows of hooks ranging from 32 to 48.The highest frequency was observed in tapeworms, with 38 hooks, constituting 32.79%.The neck was short, the immature proglottids were narrow and elongated, the testes were scattered throughout the proglottids, the ovary and vitelline gland were bilobed, the genital pores opened unilaterally on both sides, and the gravid proglottids consisted solely of a branched uterus.Molecular analysis classified this tapeworm a s T. taeniaformis.This study represents the first examination of the morphology of adult T. taeniaformis, with particular emphasis on the variation in rostellum hook numbers (32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48).Further research is necessary to assess intraspecific variation in T. taeniaformis concerning this difference.