RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Analyses of mitochondrial p e

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Hypodontus macropi sensu lato (Strongyloidea) is a nematode that occurs in the terminal ileum, caecum or colon of a range of macropodid marsupials (kangaroos and wallabies) and was first described as a hookworm-like nematode [1,2]. Various studies of H. macropi from hosts across vast geographical distances in Australia [3-7] did not reveal any significant morphological variation in the nematode among different host species, but particular predilection sites in the gut as well as host affiliations sug-gested that H. macropi represented a complex of morpho-logically indistinguishable, but genetically distinct species or groups which have a relatively high level of host specifi-city. To test this proposal, Chilton et al. [8] conducted a multilocus enzyme electrophoretic (MEE) analysis and subsequently [9] determined genetic variation in the sec-ond internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of nuclear riboso-mal DNA (rDNA), and provided evidence of genetic differences in H. macropi