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The life cycle of Thelohanellus kitauei (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) infecting common carp (Cyprinus carpio) involves aurantiactinomyxon in Branchiura sowerbyi

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Abstract

Thelohanellus kitauei is a freshwater myxosporean parasite causing intestinal giant cystic disease of common carp. To clarify the life cycle of T. kitauei, we investigated the oligochaete populations in China and Hungary. This study confirms two distinct aurantiactinomyxon morphotypes (Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 and Aurantiactinomyxon type 2) from Branchiura sowerbyi as developmental stages of the life cycle of T. kitauei. The morphological characteristics and DNA sequences of these two types are described here. Based on 18S rDNA sequence analysis, Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 (2048 bp) and Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 (2031 bp) share 99.2–99.4 %, 99.8–100 % similarity to the published sequences of T. kitauei, respectively. The 18S rDNA sequences of these two aurantiactinomyxon morphotypes share 99.4 % similarity, suggesting intraspecific variation within the taxon, possibly due to geographic origin. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate the two aurantiactinomyxon types clustered with T. kitauei. Regardless, based on 18S rDNA synonymy, it is likely that Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 and 2 are conspecific with T. kitauei. This is the fourth elucidated two-host life cycle of Thelohanellus species and the first record of T. kitauei in Europe.

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Acknowledgments

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 634429 (ParaFishControl), OTKA K 100132, Nature Science Foundation of China (31502209), New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0866), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M550399). The authors thank Hao Wu, Junfa Yuan, Qinxiang Guo, Jianchun Shao, Zhe Wang, Dan Li, and Yongliang Shen (Huazhong Agricultural University, China) for collecting sediment samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

    Dandan Zhao, Weimin Wang, Yang Liu & Yanhua Zhai

  2. Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China

    Dandan Zhao, Weimin Wang, Yang Liu & Yanhua Zhai

  3. Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, HAS, POB 18, H-1581, Budapest, Hungary

    Muhammad Hafiz Borkhanuddin, Gábor Cech & Csaba Székely

  4. School of Marine and Environmental Science, University Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

    Muhammad Hafiz Borkhanuddin

  5. Key Lab of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China

    Weimin Wang, Yang Liu & Yanhua Zhai

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  1. Dandan Zhao
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  2. Muhammad Hafiz Borkhanuddin
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  3. Weimin Wang
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Correspondence to Yanhua Zhai.

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Zhao, D., Borkhanuddin, M.H., Wang, W. et al. The life cycle of Thelohanellus kitauei (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) infecting common carp (Cyprinus carpio) involves aurantiactinomyxon in Branchiura sowerbyi . Parasitol Res 115, 4317–4325 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5215-y

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