Jutharat KulsantiwongSattrachai PrasopdeeSupawadee PirataePanita KhampoosaApiporn SuwannatraiWipada DuangprompoThidarut BoonmarsWipaporn RuangjirachupornJiraporn RuangsittichaiVithoon ViyanantPaul D.N. HebertSmarn TesanaKhon Kaen UniversityMahidol UniversityThammasat UniversityUniversity of Guelph2018-10-192018-10-192013-06-01Journal of Parasitology. Vol.99, No.3 (2013), 433-43719372345002233952-s2.0-84878701713https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/31022Bithynia funiculata is the first intermediate host of the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini in northern Thailand but its identification through morphological analysis is often problematic due to the shortage of gastropod taxonomists. As a consequence, we focused on the development of species-specific primers for use as an identification tool. Our work involved recovery of a 502-base pair (bp) amplicon of unknown function through species-specific primers whose effectiveness was tested by analyzing specimens of B. funiculata from 3 locations in northern Thailand. This primer set did not amplify other species in the Bithyniidae or in other gastropod families. By providing a tool to confirm morphological identifications of B. funiculata, and by enabling the identification of juvenile specimens and those with damaged shells, these primers will improve estimates of the prevalence of parasitic infections in this snail. © 2013 American Society of Parasitologists.Mahidol UniversityAgricultural and Biological SciencesImmunology and MicrobiologyMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.1645/GE-3138.1