Knowledge of cross-transmission and hybridization between parasites of humans and reservoir hosts is critical for understanding the evolution of the parasite and for implementing control programmes. There is now a consensus that populations of pig and human Ascaris (roundworms) show significant genetic subdivision. However, it is unclear whether this has resulted from a single or multiple host shift(s). Furthermore, previous molecular data have not been sufficient to determine whether sympatric populations of human and pig Ascaris can exchange genes. To disentangle patterns of host colonization and hybridization, we used 23 microsatellite loci to conduct Bayesian clustering analyses of individual worms collected from pigs and humans. We observed strong differentiation between populations which was primarily driven by geography, with secondary differentiation resulting from host affiliation within locations. This pattern is consistent with multiple host colonization events. However, there is low support for the short internal branches of the dendrograms. In part, the relationships among clusters may result from current hybridization among sympatric human and pig roundworms. Indeed, congruence in three Bayesian methods indicated that 4 and 7% of roundworms sampled from Guatemala and China, respectively, were hybrids. These results indicate that there is contemporary cross-transmission between populations of human and pig Ascaris.

Haplotypic variation within and among the Ascaris populations representing six provinces in China was investigated. Mitochondrial DNA regions in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) genes were amplified by PCR from total genomic DNA samples (n > 720) from Ascaris individuals from humans and pigs, and subjected to mutation scanning and subsequent selective sequencing. For the cox1, ten different electrophoretic profiles were recorded for human Ascaris, and the same number for pig Ascaris, one of them being common to both host species. For the nad1, 11 different profiles were detected for human Ascaris, and 15 for pig Ascaris. Having defined all haplotypes (20 for pcox1 and 26 for pnad1) by sequencing, their frequencies were estimated in each of the two host species and each of the six provinces. For each mitochondrial region, the frequency of the different haplotypes varied considerably, depending on host species and geographical origin. Analysis of the sequence data (representing all haplotypes for each mitochondrial locus) by F-statistics indicated restricted gene flow between human Ascaris and pig Ascaris, and supported the conclusions from previous molecular epidemiological investigations that pigs are not a significant source of Ascaris infection in humans in endemic regions.

It has recently been shown using genetic markers that Ascaris in humans and pigs in Central America comprise reproductively isolated populations. We present a similar analysis for a region of China in which close association between pigs and humans has been the norm for thousands of years, and agricultural practices will result in frequent exposure to eggs from both sources. DNA fragments from selected regions of mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA were amplified by PCR and allelic forms identified following digestion with a panel of restriction enzymes, using DNA from a total of 115 individual worms from both people and pigs from 2 neighbouring villages. Significant frequency differences in both mtDNA haplotypes and the rDNA spacer were found between the 2 host-associated populations, indicating that they represented reproductively isolated populations. Mitochondrial haplotype frequencies were different from those observed in Guatemala and also from other Asian Ascaris populations, suggesting low levels of gene flow between populations. However, we found no evidence for significant heterogeneity in the genetic composition of Ascaris infrapopulations in either humans or pigs, possibly indicative of agricultural practices in China which have resulted in a random distribution of alleles within the parasite populations.