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Description of a new myxozoan Kudoa eugerres n. sp. and reclassification of two Sphaerospora sensu lato species

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Abstract

Ultrastructural and phylogenetic description of a fish-infecting myxosporean found infecting the gallbladder wall of the teleostean Eugerres brasilianus Cuvier, 1830, collected from the Atlantic coast near the city of Maceió (Alagoas State), Brazil. Groups of mature pseudo-conical myxospores, agglutinated forming pseudocyst structures, occurring in the mucosa of gallbladder were 5.2 ± 0.8 μm (4.5–6.0) (n = 30) long, 4.3 ± 0.6 μm (3.8–4.7) (n = 25) thick, and 2.9 ± 0.2 μm (2.7–3.2) (n = 25) wide. The two ellipsoidal polar capsules, 1.8 ± 0.4 × 1.2 ± 0.4 μm (n = 25), opened close to the sutural line, each containing an isofilar polar tubule. The latter consisted of a single coil with five to six turns, arranged obliquely to the axis of the polar capsule. This myxosporean parasite, while being morphologically similar to Sphaerospora spp., displays tissue tropism and phylogenetic relationships distinct from the latter. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses showed the parasite and two other related species clustering within the marine clade, more specifically within a subclade of the larger Kudoa (Multivalvulida) clade. Consequently, this atypical new myxozoan species was classified as Kudoa eugerres n. sp. and two other histozoic Sphaerospora spp. sensu lato were transferred to the genus Kudoa.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and their suggestions that have helped to improve the text.

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Eng. A. Almeida Foundation (Proj. 2017-18) (Porto, Portugal); FAPEAL, project PPP no. 630000879/2011, and Laboratory of Genetic-CECA/UFAL (Maceió, Alagoas State), Brazil; and the FCT (Lisbon, Portugal) within the scope of the Ph.D. fellowship grant attributed to S. Rocha (SFRH/BD/92661/2013) through the programme QREN-POPH/FSE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Institute of Health Sciences & Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, CESPU, 4585-116, Gandra, Portugal

    Graça Casal

  2. Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR/UP), University of Porto, 4450-208, Matosinhos, Portugal

    Graça Casal, Sónia Rocha & Carlos Azevedo

  3. Laboratory of Aquaculture, Center for Agricultural Sciences (CECA), Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Rio Largo, Alagoas, 57100-000, Brazil

    Emerson C. Soares, Themis J. Silva, Elton L. Santos & Renato Nascimento

  4. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS/UP), University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira No. 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Sónia Rocha, Elsa Oliveira & Carlos Azevedo

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  1. Graça Casal
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  2. Emerson C. Soares
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  3. Sónia Rocha
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Correspondence to Carlos Azevedo.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This study carried out according to Brazilian laws (MMA-ICMbio, license MMA—56475-1 to LAQUA—UFAL).

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Casal, G., Soares, E.C., Rocha, S. et al. Description of a new myxozoan Kudoa eugerres n. sp. and reclassification of two Sphaerospora sensu lato species. Parasitol Res 118, 1719–1730 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06324-8

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