molecular characterization of animal fasciola spp. isolates from kermanshah, western iran

background: we evaluated the genetic diversity of samples identified morphologically as fasciola spp. from sheep, cattle and goat from kermanshah province, western iran using pcr-rflp method. methods: we used pcr-rflp analysis of ribosomal its1 fragment using rsai restriction enzyme to investigate the genetic characteristics of fasciola species obtained from different hosts (16 sheep, 28 cattle, 4 goats). the species of fasciola were confirmed by sequencing the 700 bp region of ribosomal its1 gene. results: in kermanshah, f. hepatica was present in 96% of the samples, f. gigantica was found only in two cattle sample. no hybrid forms were detected in the present study. conclusion: our results contribute to clarify the dark spots of fasciola genotyping in different parts of iran.   keywords: fasciola hepatica , fasciola gigantica , genotype, pcr, iran