J Praveenraj, A Uma, K Saravanan, B Ahilan, A Gopalakannan, D Manikandavelu, R Kiruba-Sankar, G Kumar
{"title":"Characterization of Piscinoodinium sp. associated with epizootics and mortality in non-native and endemic freshwater fish of the Andaman Islands, India.","authors":"J Praveenraj, A Uma, K Saravanan, B Ahilan, A Gopalakannan, D Manikandavelu, R Kiruba-Sankar, G Kumar","doi":"10.3354/dao03821","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03821","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Piscinoodinium is a well-known parasitic dinoflagellate genus that causes epizootics in tropical freshwater fish. This study investigated the first outbreak of Piscinoodinium sp. in freshwater fish of the Andaman Islands, India. The infection was noticed in the non-native fish Betta splendens and Poecilia reticulata, and in the endemic killifish Aplocheilus andamanicus. The infection caused mass mortality in larval, sub-adult, and adult fish. The parasite was identified based on microscopy and molecular characterization. The prevalence, parasite density, and mortality percentage were recorded. Infected fish had numerous trophonts attached on the body surface, gills, fins, and eyes. Infected skin and gills showed degeneration of the epithelial cells and clubbed gills. Small subunit rDNA (955 bp) was amplified from the Piscinoodinium sp. infecting B. splendens, revealing genetic differences between it and Piscinoodinium spp. from the USA and from India.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"160 ","pages":"19-24"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142616614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Olga M Korn, Darya D Golubinskaya, Nikolai I Selin, Alexander V Kalachev
{"title":"Population biology of crab Hapalogaster dentata parasitized by rhizocephalan Briarosaccus hoegi in the northwestern Sea of Japan.","authors":"Olga M Korn, Darya D Golubinskaya, Nikolai I Selin, Alexander V Kalachev","doi":"10.3354/dao03825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03825","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We studied the population and reproductive characteristics of the stone crab Hapalogaster dentata (De Haan, 1849) (Anomura: Lithodidae) parasitized by Briarosaccus hoegi (Rhizocephala: Peltogastridae) from Peter the Great Bay (northwestern Sea of Japan) in 2023. The sex structure of the H. dentata population was female-biased and represented by 39.1% males and 60.9% females. The size-frequency distribution differed between males and females. The prevalence of parasitization of H. dentata by B. hoegi reached 6.7%. No relationship between crab sex and parasitization prevalence was found. Most of the parasitized specimens (94.8%) had only a single parasitic externa. The non-parasitized and parasitized crabs did not differ in main carapace length. The pleopods in most of the externa-bearing females were shortened or completely atrophied. H. dentata produced 1 clutch per year with ovigerous females occurring from October to May. An obvious delay in embryonic development was observed in winter. None of the parasitized H. dentata females were ovigerous. Externae with embryos of B. hoegi were found from May to July.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"160 ","pages":"35-46"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142616601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Igor Bakhmet, Kirill E Nikolaev, Alexei O Smurov, Ivan Levakin, Dmitry Ekimov
{"title":"Effect of trematode infection on cardiac activity of marine gastropod Littorina littorea in situ and under laboratory conditions.","authors":"Igor Bakhmet, Kirill E Nikolaev, Alexei O Smurov, Ivan Levakin, Dmitry Ekimov","doi":"10.3354/dao03819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03819","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Physiological mechanisms underlying relationships between the trematode parthenitae and their molluscan hosts are poorly understood. In this study, we estimated the cardiac function of gastropods Littorina littorea L. infected with Himasthla elongata and Cryptocotyle lingua under laboratory conditions and in situ. The heart rate (HR) of the infected periwinkles was significantly lower than in the uninfected ones. HR of uninfected periwinkles in the natural environment followed a clear tidal pattern, with high values at high tide and low values at low tide. However, HR in most of the infected molluscs did not follow this rhythm. The decrease in HR was more pronounced in the periwinkles infected with C. lingua than with H. elongata. Thus, infection with C. lingua had a greater effect on the physiology and metabolic rate of periwinkles than infection with H. elongata.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"160 ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142460388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sylvia Cheung, Slade A Loutet, Sarah Zaytsoff, Filip Van Petegem, Loc H Tran, Hamlet Abnousi
{"title":"PirA- or PirB-binding nanobodies can protect whiteleg shrimp from the acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease toxin.","authors":"Sylvia Cheung, Slade A Loutet, Sarah Zaytsoff, Filip Van Petegem, Loc H Tran, Hamlet Abnousi","doi":"10.3354/dao03817","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03817","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a devastating shrimp disease caused by a binary toxin, PirAB, produced by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and other closely related bacteria. To address AHPND, over 300 unique single-domain antibodies (also known as nanobodies) derived from the VHH domains of Lama glama heavy-chain-only antibodies were raised against either PirA or PirB and characterized. Nanobodies were shortlisted based on their affinities for either PirA or PirB, their relative stability in intestinal fluids, and their ability to reduce PirAB-induced death in brine shrimp Artemia salina. From these data, a subset of nanobodies was tested for their ability to reduce AHPND in whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei, and nanobodies targeting either PirA or PirB provided significant disease protection to whiteleg shrimp. These results show that nanobodies can be a new option for shrimp farmers to reduce or eliminate the impact of AHPND on their operations.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"160 ","pages":"7-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142460389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rui Sousa, Vincent Laizé, Cátia Lourenço-Marques, Marisa Barata, Pedro Pousão-Ferreira, Florbela Soares
{"title":"Inactivation in vitro of the marine parasite Amyloodinium ocellatum.","authors":"Rui Sousa, Vincent Laizé, Cátia Lourenço-Marques, Marisa Barata, Pedro Pousão-Ferreira, Florbela Soares","doi":"10.3354/dao03814","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03814","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ectoparasite Amyloodinium ocellatum is a dinoflagellate that causes severe morbidity and mortality in both brackish and marine warmwater aquaculture fishes worldwide. A. ocellatum has a triphasic life cycle based on a free-living flagellate (the dinospore), a parasitic stage (the trophont) and a resting and reproductive cyst (the tomont). Current chemical treatments have shown some efficacy in eliminating dinospores but fail to inactivate the tomonts. Here we evaluated the efficacy of alternative treatments in vitro through sporulation tests and the quantification of dinospore production and motility. Hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid efficiently decreased dinospore production at low concentrations, but total inactivation of tomonts was only achieved with higher dosages. Tomont inactivation was also observed with disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite and Virkon S. This work provides insights into effective and environmentally friendly alternatives for the elimination of resistant forms of the marine parasite A. ocellatum.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"159 ","pages":"183-197"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142343492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amber M Lum, Tatiana C Weisbrod, Sarah I Jacob, Ramiro Isaza, Caroline E C Goertz, Allison D Tuttle, Treasa C Deegan, Ruth Francis-Floyd, Nicole I Stacy
{"title":"Retrospective comparison of thyroid hormones in Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus under professional care with and without thyroid disease.","authors":"Amber M Lum, Tatiana C Weisbrod, Sarah I Jacob, Ramiro Isaza, Caroline E C Goertz, Allison D Tuttle, Treasa C Deegan, Ruth Francis-Floyd, Nicole I Stacy","doi":"10.3354/dao03816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03816","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An evaluation of morbidity and mortality in Steller sea lions (SSLs) Eumetopias jubatus under professional care identified a high prevalence of thyroid disease in aged animals. While studies have investigated the effects of age, season, nutrition, stressors, and pollutants on thyroid hormones in pinnipeds, data from individuals with known thyroid disease are lacking. Histopathological reports of adult SSLs in North American aquariums from 1979 to 2022 with banked serum (n = 14) were reviewed. Radioimmunoassays, which have been validated in this species, were used to determine triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), and free thyroxine (fT4). A solid-phase chemiluminescent immunometric assay for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) quantification was validated by testing inter- and intra-assay repeatability, recovery, and parallelism. Lesions included follicular cysts (n = 5), adenoma with thyroglossal duct or follicular cysts (n = 2), medullary or follicular C-cell carcinoma with follicular cysts and nodular hyperplasia (n = 1), neuroendocrine carcinoma with follicular cysts (n = 1), and sarcomatoid carcinoma metastasis to the thyroid (n = 1). Significantly lower concentrations of TT3, TT4, and fT4 in SSLs with thyroid disease (n = 10) versus those without (n = 4) were attributed to space-occupying lesions, advanced age, and/or season. TSH was not significantly different between groups. Fifty percent of diseased SSL profiles were within reference ranges, and all individuals with lesions were clinically euthyroid. These data expand the current understanding of thyroid disease in SSLs and underscore the need for additional diagnostics (e.g. cervical ultrasound) concurrently with hormone assays to effectively screen for underlying abnormalities.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"159 ","pages":"199-208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142343493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hsiang-Pei Su, Chau-Hwa Chi, Tsung-Hsien Li, I-Jiunn Cheng, Pin-Huan Yu
{"title":"Synovial fluid analysis in healthy green turtles Chelonia mydas in Taiwan.","authors":"Hsiang-Pei Su, Chau-Hwa Chi, Tsung-Hsien Li, I-Jiunn Cheng, Pin-Huan Yu","doi":"10.3354/dao03813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03813","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Septic arthritis is a frustrating disease in sea turtle rehabilitation because of its unclear pathogenesis, delayed onset during rehabilitation, long-term treatment requirements, and potentially poor prognosis. Radiography, blood cultures, and arthrocentesis have been used as diagnostic tools for suspected cases. However, there is currently a lack of data on the characteristics of synovial fluid in healthy sea turtles. To establish reference data for synovial fluid in sea turtles, we enrolled 14 green turtles Chelonia mydas rescued between 2019 and 2022 from 3 facilities using the following inclusion criteria: normal attitude and appetite, normal motor functions of the 4 limbs, no joint swelling, and no ongoing use of antibiotics for at least 1 mo. Bacterial cultures of blood and synovial fluid from the shoulder joints of these turtles were obtained and a qualitative analysis of the synovial fluid was performed. The results revealed bacterial culture-negative blood and synovial fluids at 37°C. Most characteristics of normal synovial fluid in green turtles, such as being transparent, colorless, and able to create a strand of over 2.5 cm by being pulled with a needle in viscosity trials, as well as the cytology of the normal synovial fluids being dominated by histiocytes and synovial lining cells, lymphocytes, and occasionally a few heterophils or erythrocytes were similar to those in mammals. This study provides information on the normal synovial fluid characteristics of green turtles in Taiwan, which may be beneficial for the diagnosis of joint diseases in sea turtles.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"159 ","pages":"171-182"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142343494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"First detection of Marteilia pararefringens in Mytilus trossulus.","authors":"Mats Bøgwald, Sigmund B Larsson, Stein Mortensen","doi":"10.3354/dao03818","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03818","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Marteilia pararefringens is a protistan parasite that mainly infects the digestive gland of mussels Mytilus spp. Despite observations of marteiliosis in mussels since the 1970s, the reported host species has generally not been verified by molecular methods. The 3 closely related mussels Mytilus edulis, M. galloprovincialis, and M. trossulus cannot be distinguished morphologically and hybridise in regions where they overlap. Norway is the only country where both M. pararefringens and M. trossulus are known to occur. Here, we report the first detection of marteiliosis, caused by M. pararefringens, in M. trossulus and an M. edulis-M. trossulus hybrid in a heliothermic oyster pond-a poll-in Hardangerfjorden, Norway. The observed infections were severe, containing early, intermediate, and advanced (sporulating) stages present in the digestive epithelium. There was no host reaction associated with the infections. This finding confirms that all known Mytilus species present in Europe are susceptible to M. pararefringens.</p>","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"159 ","pages":"209-214"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142343481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sylvain Larrat, Véronique Lesage, Robert Michaud, Stéphane Lair
{"title":"Relationship between nutritional condition and causes of death in beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the St. Lawrence estuary, Quebec, Canada","authors":"Sylvain Larrat, Véronique Lesage, Robert Michaud, Stéphane Lair","doi":"10.3354/dao03812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03812","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Carcasses of endangered beluga whales <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i> from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada, have been examined consistently since 1983 to determine causes of death. The objective of this study is to compare the nutritional condition of belugas that died of different causes. Previously published categories of death were refined to discriminate acute from chronic pathological processes. Bayesian linear models were used to predict cause of death from the scaled mass index (SMI). Causes of death were as follows: ‘bacterial diseases’, ‘verminous pneumonia’, ‘toxoplasmosis’, ‘other parasitic diseases’, ‘other infectious diseases’, ‘trauma—entrapment’, ‘other noninfectious diseases’, ‘dystocia—postpartum complications’, ‘neonatal mortality’, ‘cancer’, ‘primary starvation’ and ‘undetermined’. The models predicted a lower nutritional condition for the ‘neonatal mortality’ in belugas <290 cm in length and for ‘primary starvation’ and ‘verminous pneumonia’ categories for belugas ≥290 cm. Belugas that died from ‘dystocia—postpartum complications’ or from ‘undetermined causes’ had a higher-than-average SMI. Animals in the ‘trauma—entrapment’ category did not exhibit the highest nutritional condition, which was unexpected since individuals that died from trauma or entrapment are often used as references for optimal nutritional condition in other cetacean populations. Females that died from dystocia and postpartum complications were in similar nutritional condition as females dead from other causes during, or shortly after, pregnancy. This suggests that these females are not obese, ruling out a possible cause of dystocia. Although studying dead animals biases results toward low nutritional condition, our findings support the link between chronic pathological processes and poorer nutritional condition in belugas.","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142226174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nectonema horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) parasitic in the Tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi, with a note on the relationship between host and parasite phylogeny","authors":"Keiichi Kakui","doi":"10.3354/dao03815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03815","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: <i>Nectonema</i> nematomorphs utilize marine crustacean hosts in their life cycle; 16 decapod and 1 isopod genera have been reported to date as host genera. This study reports the first case of <i>Nectonema</i> parasitic in the Tanner crab <i>Chionoecetes bairdi</i>, adding another known host genus. A single nematomorph juvenile was recovered from the body cavity of each of 2 ovigerous female crabs. A nucleotide sequence for the 18S rRNA gene (1854 bp) was determined from 1 <i>Nectonema</i> individual. The 18S sequence showed Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distances of 10.0, 2.0, and 1.7% from 18S sequences from <i>Nectonema</i> sp. from an isopod host, <i>N. agile</i>, and <i>N. munidae</i>, respectively. In an 18S-based tree, the unknown species was the sister taxon to a clade comprising <i>N. agile</i> and <i>N. munidae</i>, both of which also utilize decapod hosts. The phylogenetic relationships among the 3 <i>Nectonema</i> species parasitic in decapods were not congruent with the phylogeny of the hosts, not supporting a hypothesis of nematomorph-host co-evolution.","PeriodicalId":11252,"journal":{"name":"Diseases of aquatic organisms","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142226175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}