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Morphological and molecular identification of Hysterothylacium larvae (Nematoda: Raphidascarididae) in marine fish from Tunisian Mediterranean coasts

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Abstract

The taxonomy of Hysterothylacium genus in Mediterranean waters remains incomplete and unresolved. The aim of the current study was to investigate the morphological and molecular identification of selected species of Hysterothylacium larvae in marine fish from the Tunisian Mediterranean coasts. A total of 192 marine fish samples were examined. In total, thirty-seven third-stage larvae of Hysterothylacium were morphologically identified as Hysterothylacium type V. In the present study, representatives of this type from the Mediterranean Sea were genetically characterized for the first time by sequencing the rDNA ITS (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) regions and mtDNA cox2 gene. This study represents the first report of Hysterothylacium type V from the Mediterranean Sea. We also report Mullus barbatus, M. surmuletus, and Pagellus erythrinus as new hosts for this larval type. Based upon molecular and phylogenetic analyses considering the rDNA ITS regions, the Hysterothylacium type V described here was classified as a new genotype, named Genotype B. The valid genetic data of the described Hysterothylacium type V in the present study can be used to establish the phylogenetic relationships among Hysterothylacium species from the Mediterranean Sea and worldwide for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This work is part of master thesis of Manel Khammassi defended at the Faculty of Sciences of Tunis in 2016. The molecular part was carried out during the internship of Ms. Manel at the Department of Aquatic Animal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University Samsun-Turkey, supervised by Dr. Gokmen Zafer Pekmezci. We would like to thank to Associate Professor Didem Pekmezci (University of Ondokuz Mayis, Turkey), Professor Elyes Zhioua (Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Tunisia), and Ph.D. Oyku Naz Attila (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK) for their help in English proofreading.

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  1. Laboratory of Biodiversity, Parasitology and Ecology of Aquatic Ecosystems, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Manel Khammassi & Sihem Bahri

  2. Department of Aquatic Animal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Gokmen Zafer Pekmezci

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  1. Manel Khammassi
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  2. Sihem Bahri
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  3. Gokmen Zafer Pekmezci
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Correspondence to Gokmen Zafer Pekmezci.

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Khammassi, M., Bahri, S. & Pekmezci, G.Z. Morphological and molecular identification of Hysterothylacium larvae (Nematoda: Raphidascarididae) in marine fish from Tunisian Mediterranean coasts. Parasitol Res 119, 3285–3296 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06848-4

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