Diversity and development of Malacosporea (Myxozoa) infecting freshwater fish in Europe and Brazil

• Grant number: 16/08831-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Fishery Resources and Fishery Engineering - Inland Water Fishery Resources
• Principal Investigator: Edson Aparecido Adriano
• Grantee: Juliana Naldoni
• Supervisor: Beth Okamura
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Natural History Museum, London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/22700-7 - Systematic and host-parasite relationship of myxosporean parasites of Pimelodidae family fish in the Amazon Basin, BP.PD

Abstract

Myxozoans are widespread and common endoparasites of fish with complex life cycles, infecting vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. There are two classes: Myxosporea and Malacosporea. To date approximately 2,200 myxosporean species have been described. By comparison, the Malacospora is species-poor with evidence for some 11 species, only four of which have been described. South America has the greatest diversity of fish species of any continent and recent studies in Brazil have begun to reveal a diversity of myxozoan parasites of commercially important fish and the effects of infections on their hosts. These studies, however, have all focused on myxozoans of Class Myxosporea. The research proposed here would address this imbalance to gain insights on malacosporeans, which are also expected to be present in Brazil and potentially problematic. The specific aim of the proposed research is to examine the diversity and development of malacosporeans infecting introduced salmonids (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and native characiforms (Colossoma macropomu and Piaractus mesopotamicus) in Brazilian fish farms and salmonids (Oncorhynchus mykiss and Salmo trutta) and cyprinids (minnows) in Europe. Malacosporean diversity and development will be characterized by DNA sequence data and ultrastructural details. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RUGGERI, PAOLO; NALDONI, JULIANA; HARTIKAINEN, HANNA; OKAMURA, BETH. PCR-RFLP: a targeted method to reveal host specific malacosporean infection profiles (Cnidaria: Myxozoa: Malacosporea). DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS, v. 141, p. 91-101, 2020. (16/08831-7)

NALDONI, JULIANA; ADRIANO, EDSON A.; HARTIGAN, ASHLIE; SAYER, CARL; OKAMURA, BETH. Malacosporean myxozoans exploit a diversity of fish hosts. Parasitology, v. 146, n. 7, p. 968-978, JUN 2019. (16/08831-7, 13/21374-6)

OKAMURA, BETH; HARTIGAN, ASHLIE; NALDONI, JULIANA. Extensive Uncharted Biodiversity: The Parasite Dimension. INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, v. 58, n. 6, p. 1132-1145, DEC 2018. (16/08831-7)