Abstract
Larval forms of the genus Anisakis were reported infecting several fish species from the North African coasts of central Mediterranean Sea. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis was used to investigate the occurrence of larval forms of different Anisakis species in teleost fishes and squid from North African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and to establish the geographical and host range of these parasites in this area. A total of 282 Anisakis larvae were identified by PCR-RFLP from 13 teleost fish species and one cephalopod species captured at different sites off the Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan coasts. The type I larvae were found with a frequency of 93.62% and were identified as belonging to the following species: Anisakis simplex s.str., Anisakis pegreffii, A. simplex s.str/A. pegreffii hybrids and Anisakis typica. The type II larvae were found to belong to Anisakis physeteris, with the frequency of 6.38%. The record of A. simplex s.str/A. pegreffii hybrids, previously recorded from the Spanish and Portuguese Atlantic coasts and the Alboran Sea, extends their geographic distribution to the Tunisian coasts. The occurrence of A. simplex s.str. and hybrids away from their known area of distribution may predict the successful use of Anisakis larvae for tagging Scomber scombrus fish stocks for fisheries management purposes. Moreover, the results reported provide valuable information regarding the diversity of Anisakis species in the study area, indicating that several Anisakis sibling and morphospecies coexist in the North African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abollo E, Gestal C, Pascual S (2001) Anisakis infestation in marine fish and cephalopods from Galician waters: an updated perspective. Parasitol Res 87:492–499
Abollo E, Paggi L, Pascual S, D’Amelio S (2003) Occurrence of recombinant genotypes of Anisakis simplex s.s. and Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in an area of sympatry. Infect Genet Evol 3:175–181
Beverly-Burton M, Nyman OL, Pippy JHC (1977) The morphology, and some observation on the population genetics of Anisakis simplex larvae (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) from fishes of the North Atlantic. J Fish Res Board Can 34:105–112
Costa G, Madeira A, Pontes T, D’Amelio S (2004) Anisakid nematodes of the blackspot seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo, from Madeiran waters, Portugal. Acta Parasitol 49:156–161
D’Amelio S, Mathiopoulos KD, Santos CP, Pugachev ON, Webb SC, Picanco MO, Paggi L (2000) Genetic markers in ribosomal DNA for the identification of members of the genus Anisakis (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) defined by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism. Int J Parasitol 30:223–226
Daschner A, Pascual CY (2005) Anisakis simplex: sensitization and clinical allergy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 5:281–285
Dransfeld L, Dwane O, Molloy J, Gallagher S, Reid DG (2005) Estimation of mackerel (Scomber scombrus L., 1758) and horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus L., 1758) daily egg production outside the standard ICES survey area. ICES J Mar Sci 62:1705–1710
Farjallah S, Ben Slimane B, Blel H, Amor N, Said K (2006) Anisakid parasites of two forkbeards (Phycis blennoides and Phycis phycis) from the eastern Mediterranean coasts in Tunisia. Parasitol Res 100:11–17
George-Nascimento M (1996) Populations and assemblages of parasites in hake, Merluccius gayi, from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean: stock implications. J Fish Biol 48:557–568
MacKenzie K (2002) Parasites as biological tags in population studies of marine organisms: an update. Parasitology 124:S153–S163
Marques JF, Cabral HN, Busi M, D’Amelio S (2006) Molecular identification of Anisakis species from Pleuronectiformes off the Portuguese coast. J Helminthol 80:47–51
Martin-Sanchez J, Artacho-Reinoso ME, Diaz-Gavilan M, Valero-Lopez A (2005) Structure of Anisakis simplex s. l. populations in a region sympatric for A. pegreffii and A. simplex s.s. Absence of reproductive isolation between both species. Mol Biochem Parasitol 141:155–162
Mattiucci S, Nascetti G (2006) Molecular systematics, phylogeny and ecology of Anisakid nematodes of the genus Anisakis Dujardin, 1845: an update. Parasite 13:99–113
Mattiucci S, Nascetti G, Bullini L, Orecchia P, Paggi L (1986) Genetic structure of Anisakis physeteris, and its differentiation from the Anisakis simplex complex (Ascaridida: Anisakidae). Parasitology 93:383–387
Mattiucci S, Cianchi R, Paggi L, Arduino P, Margolis L, Brattey J, Webb SC, D’Amelio S, Orecchia P, Bullini L (1997) Genetic and ecological data on the Anisakis simplex complex, with evidence for a new species (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea, Anisakidae). J Parasitol 86:401–416
Mattiucci S, Paggi L, Nascetti G, Ishikura H, Kikuchi K, Sato N, Cianchi R, Bullini L (1998) Allozyme and morphological identification of Anisakis, Contracaecum and Pseudoterranova from Japanese waters (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea). Syst Parasitol 40:81–92
Mattiucci S, Paggi L, Nascetti G, Abollo E, Webb SC, Pascual S, Cianchi R, Bullini L (2001) Genetic divergence and reproductive isolation between Anisakis brevispiculata and Anisakis physeteris (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Int J Parasitol 31:9–14
Mattiucci S, Paggi L, Nascetti G, Portes Santos C, Costa G, Di Beneditto AP, Ramos R, Argyrou M, Cianchi R, Bullini L (2002) Genetic markers in the study of Anisakis typica (Diesing, 1860): larval identification and genetic relationships with other species of Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Syst Parasitol 51:159–170
Mattiucci S, Abaunza P, Ramadori L, Nascetti G (2004) Genetic identification of Anisakis larvae in European hake from Atlantic and Mediterranean waters for stock recognition. J Fish Biol 65:495–510
Mattiucci S, Nascetti G, Dailey M, Webb SC, Barros NB, Cianchi R, Bullini L (2005) Evidence for a new species of Anisakis Dujardin, 1845: morphological description and genetic relationships between congeners (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Syst Parasitol 61:157–171
Nascetti G, Paggi L, Orecchia P, Smith JW, Mattiucci S, Bullini L (1986) Electrophoretic studies on the Anisakis simplex complex (Ascaridida: Anisakidae) from the Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic. Int J Parasitol 16:633–640
Orecchia P, Paggi L, Mattiucci S, Di Cave D, Catalini N (1989) Infestazione da larve di Anisakis simplex A e Anisakis physeteris in specie ittiche dei mari Italiani. Parassitologia 31:37–43
Paggi L, Nascetti G, Webb SC, Mattiucci S, Cianchi R, Bullini L (1998) A new species of Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from beaked whales (Ziphiidae): allozyme and morphological evidence. Syst Parasitol 40:161–174
Pontes T, D’Amelio S, Costa G, Paggi L (2005) Molecular characterization of larval anisakid nematodes from marine fishes of Madeira by a PCR-based approach, with evidence for a new species. J Parasitol 91:1430–1434
Punzón A, Villamor B, Preciado I (2004) Analysis of the handline fishery targeting mackerel (Scomber scombrus, L.) in the North of Spain (ICES Division VIIIbc). Fish Res 69:189–204
Thompson JD, Higgins DG, Gibson TJ (1994) CLUSTAL W: improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, positions-specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. Nucleic Acids Res 22:4673–4680
Valero A, López-Cuello M, Benítez R, Adroher FJ (2006) Anisakis spp. in European hake, Merluccius merluccius (L.) from the Atlantic off north-west Africa and the Mediterranean off southern Spain. Acta Parasitol 51:209–212
Villamor B, Abaunza P, Fariña AC (2004) Growth variability of mackerel (Scomber scombrus) off north and northwest Spain and a comparative review of the growth patterns in the northeast Atlantic. Fish Res 69:107–121
Zhu XQ, Gasser RB, Podolska M, Chilton N (1998) Characterization of anisakid nematodes with zoonotic potential by nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Int J Parasitol 28:1911–1921
Zhu XQ, D’Amelio S, Paggi L, Gasser RB (2000) Assessing sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA within and among members of the Contracaecum osculatum complex (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae). Parasitol Res 86:677–683
Zhu XQ, D’Amelio S, Hu M, Paggi L, Gasser RB (2001) Electrophoretic detection of population variation within Contracaecum ogmorhini (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae). Electrophoresis 22:1930–1934
Zhu XQ, D’Amelio S, Palm HW, Paggi L, George-Nascimento M, Gasser RB (2002) SSCP-based identification of members within the Pseudoterranova decipiens complex (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae) using genetic markers in the internal transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA. Parasitology 24:615–623
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farjallah, S., Slimane, B.B., Busi, M. et al. Occurrence and molecular identification of Anisakis spp. from the North African coasts of Mediterranean Sea. Parasitol Res 102, 371–379 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0771-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0771-9