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Scratching the sporocyst surface: characterisation of European Aggregata species by atomic force microscopy

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Abstract.

The application of atomic force microscopy to the understanding of surface structure and atomic-scale measurements on the sporocyst of European Aggregata species, intracellular coccidia of the cephalopods Octopus vulgaris and Sepia officinalis, is presented here. Using the roughness mean surface (RMS) as an index, we reveal texture to be a key parameter for characterisation of the sporocyst surface properties, which resolve the historical synonymy within the European Aggregatidae. Roughness measurements from RMS algorithms may also be an important diagnostic taxonomic character for the differentiation of Aggregata species in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (CSIC), Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain, , , , ,

    C. Gestal &  A. Guerra

  2. Area de Parasitología, FEPMAR-PB2, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Vigo, Aptdo. 874, 36200 Vigo, Spain, , , , ,

    S. Pascual

  3. Unidad de Microscopía Electrónica, Centro de Apoyo Científico y Tecnológico a la Investigación (CACTI), Universidad de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo, Spain, , , , ,

    C. Serra

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  1. C. Gestal
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  2. C. Serra
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  3. A. Guerra
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  4. S. Pascual
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Gestal, .C., Serra, .C., Guerra, .A. et al. Scratching the sporocyst surface: characterisation of European Aggregata species by atomic force microscopy. Parasitol Res 88, 242–246 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-001-0534-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-001-0534-y

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