Evaluation of prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of Wolbachia pipientis isolated from Dirofilaria immitis of canids in northern Iran

Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens, two mosquito-borne filarial nematodes, are the primary causes of subcutaneous and cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis in humans and canines. Wolbachia pipientis infection is widespread among arthropods and nematodes globally. One safe, cost-effective, and efficient way to avoid dirofilariasis infections is to eradicate Wolbachia. So, herein we determined the prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of W. pipientis strains isolated from D. immitis of canids in northern Iran. A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study from March 2019 to April 2020 in Guilan province, north of Iran, was conducted. Sampling consisted of 32 road-killed carnivores (12 Canis familiaris and 20 Canis aureus) were gathered and necropsied for this study. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was the basis for the molecular analysis. D. immitis infection was discovered in 7/20 (35%) of the jackals and 9/12 (75%) of the dogs. The W. pipientis infection was present in all 16 of the infected dogs and jackals. In this study, 16S rRNA sequences had 100% similarity with previously submitted W. pipientis sequences from the USA, Russia, Myanmar, and Italy. This paper hopes to provide a new vision for further studies on the symbiotic relationship between D. immitis and Wolbachia, providing an advance in the therapeutic and diagnostic approach. There is no report of molecular identification for Wolbachia spp. isolated from D. immitis in northern Iran. So, to fill this study gap, herein we determined the prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of W. pipientis strains isolated from D. immitis of canids in northern Iran.