Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A novel myxosporean parasite Myxobolus klamathellus n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) from native blue chub (Gila coerulea) in Klamath Lake, Oregon

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Blue chub, Gila coerulea Girard, 1856 is a freshwater cyprinid fish native to inland drainages of western North America. It has not previously been recorded as a host of any myxosporean parasite (Cnidaria: Myxosporea), despite myxosporeans being cosmopolitan in freshwater and marine fishes worldwide and sympatric with this host. Herein, we describe a novel myxosporean from subcutaneous cysts in native blue chub from Klamath Lake, Oregon. Myxospores were consistent with genus Myxobolus, being obovoid but compressed in thickness, length 14.3 ± 0.4 (13–15) μm, width 9.7 ± 0.4 (9–10) μm, thickness 7.7 ± 0.3 (7–8) μm; two polar capsules ovoid slightly dissimilar in size, length 6.4 ± 0.4 (6–7) μm, width 3.8 ± 0.3 (3–4) μm, with four (3–5) turns of the polar filament (tubule); capsule openings apical, one in each valve cell. The small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence was up to 97 % similar to Myxobolus spp. from other cyprinids from North America and Europe. Given the novel host, unique myxospore morphometrics, and DNA sequence, we describe this as Myxobolus klamathellus n. sp.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atkinson SD, Bartholomew JL (2009) Alternate spore stages of Myxobilatus gasterostei, a myxosporean parasite of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and oligochaetes (Nais communis). Parasitol Res 104:1173–1181

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barta JR, Martin DS, Liberator PA, Dashkevica M, Anderson JW, Feighner SD, Elbrecht A, Perkins-Barrow A, Jenkins MC, Danforth HD, Ruff MD, Profous-Juchelka H (1997) Phylogenetic relationships among eight Eimeria species infecting domestic fowl inferred using complete small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences. J Parasitol 83:262–271

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diamant A, Whipps CM, Kent ML (2004) A new species of Sphaeromyxa (Myxosporea: Sphaeromyxina: Sphaeromyxidae) in devil firefish, Pterois miles (Scorpaenidae), from the northern Red Sea: morphology, ultrastructure, and phylogeny. J Parasitol 90:1434–1442

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eiras JC, Molnár K, Lu YS (2005) Synopsis of the species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Myxobolidae). Syst Parasitol 61:1–46

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eszterbauer E (2004) Genetic relationship among gill-infecting Myxobolus species (Myxosporea) of cyprinids: Molecular evidence of importance of tissue-specificity. Dis Aquat Org 58:35–40

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feist SW, Longshaw M (2006) Phylum Myxozoa. Chapter in Woo PTK (ed.) (2006) Fish Diseases and Disorders, Volume 1: Protozoan and Metazoan Infections. Cabi Publishing. pp230-296

  • Foott JS, Harmon R (1999) Histological Evaluation of Klamath Lake Basin Blue Chub Tissues. FY98 Investigational Report, 13pp. United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

  • Hall TA (1999) BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT. Nucleic Acids Symp Ser 41:95–98

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hallett SL, Diamant A (2001) Ultrastructure and small-subunit ribosomal DNA sequence of Henneguya lesteri n.sp. (Myxosporea), a parasite of sand whiting Sillago analis (Sillaginidae) from the coast of Queensland, Australia. Dis Aquat Org 46:197–212

  • Hallett SL, Atkinson SD, El-Matbouli M (2002) Molecular characterisation of two aurantiactinomyxon (Myxozoa) phenotypes reveals one genotype. J Fish Dis 25:627–631

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Gu Z, Zhang Y, Zeng L (2011) Redescription and molecular analysis of Myxobolus shantungensis Hu, 1965 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) infecting common carp Cyprinus carpio haematopterus. Parasitol Res 109:1619–1623

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Jia L, Huang MJ, Gu ZM (2014) Thelohanellus testudineus n. sp. (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) infecting the skin of allogynogenetic gibel carp Carassius auratus gibelio (Bloch) in China. J Fish Dis 37:535–542

  • Liu Y, Whipps CM, Gu ZM, Huang MJ, He C, Yang HL, Molnár K (2013) Myxobolus musseliusae (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae) from the gills of common carp Cyprinus carpio and revision of Myxobolus dispar recorded in China. Parasitol Res 112:289–296

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lom J, Arthur JR (1989) A guideline for the preparation of species descriptions in Myxosporea. J Fish Dis 12:151–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lom J, Dyková I (2006) Myxozoan genera: definition and notes on taxonomy, life-cycle terminology and pathogenic species. Folia Parasitol 53:1–36

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molnár K, Eszterbauer E (2015) Specificity of Infection Sites in Vertebrate Hosts. In: Okamura B, Gruhl A, Bartholomew JL (2015) Myxozoan Evolution, Ecology and Development. Springer International Publishing, pp 295–313

  • Molnár K, Eszterbauer E, Marton S, Székely C, Eiras JC (2012) Comparison of the Myxobolus fauna of common barbel from Hungary and Iberian barbel from Portugal. Dis Aquat Org 100:231–248

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okamura B, Gruhl A, Bartholomew JL (2015) Myxozoan Evolution, Ecology and Development. Springer International Publishing.

  • Remple S, Markle DF (2005) Description and identification of larval and juvenile cyprinids (Fathead Minnow, Tui Chub, and Blue Chub) from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Calif Fish Game 91:83–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Schönhuth S, Shiozawa DK, Dowling TE, Mayden RL (2012) Molecular systematics of western North American cyprinids (Cypriniformes:Cyprinidae). Zootaxa 3586:281–303

  • Siddall ME, Martin DS, Bridge D, Desser SS, Cone DK (1995) The demise of a phylum of protists: phylogeny of Myxozoa and other Parasitic Cnidaria. J Parasitol 81:961–967

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Székely C, Molnár K, Cech G (2015) Description of Myxobolus balatonicus n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae) from the common carp Cyprinus carpio L. in Lake Balaton. Syst Parasitol 91:71–79

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Bill Tinniswood, ODFW, for collecting the fish. This research was supported by Research Grant No. IS-4576-13 from BARD, The United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    Stephen Douglas Atkinson

  2. Fish Health Services, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    Craig Randall Banner

Authors
  1. Stephen Douglas Atkinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Craig Randall Banner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen Douglas Atkinson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Atkinson, S.D., Banner, C.R. A novel myxosporean parasite Myxobolus klamathellus n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) from native blue chub (Gila coerulea) in Klamath Lake, Oregon. Parasitol Res 116, 299–302 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5292-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5292-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation