trial to assess the susceptibility of Biomphalaria Alexandrina to Schistosoma mansoni by protein electrophoresis, hepatic enzymes activities and random amplification polymorphic DNA [RAPD]

The identification of susceptible from refractory Biomphalaria alexandrina snails to Schistosoma mansoni is important in transmission studies and control programs. In this study, a trial was made in this respect utilizing three techniques, namely protein electrophoresis, assay for hepatic enzymes activities and Random Amplification Polymorphic DNA [RAPD]. The results show that, in protein electrophoresis there is one shard band only between susceptible and refractory snails [68.41KD]. The activities of hepatic enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT], alkaline [ALKP] and acid phosphatase [AcP], were higher in the tissue homogenate and hemolymph of susceptible snails than refractory ones. In RAPD, utilizing OPA-9 primer, approximately 1,900 bp band was characteristic for susceptible snails but did not appear in refractory ones