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Dărăbuș G, Ujvari KR, Imre M. Parasitism with Protozoa and Monogeneans in Fish from the Natural Waters of Romania. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1519. [PMID: 39203362 PMCID: PMC11356011 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12081519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Parasitism by protozoa and monogenean flatworms in freshwater fish from Romania was studied by collecting and examining samples from two major river systems there: 183 fish from 17 species from the Olt River and its tributaries; and 155 fish from 16 species from the Mureș River and its tributary, Târnava Mare. The average rates of parasitism in the samples from the two rivers and their tributaries were as follows: Ichthyiophthirius multifiliis (2%), Trichodina spp. (21%), Apiosoma spp. (18%), Mixobolus spp. (8%), Dactylogyrus spp. (9%), and Gyrodactylus spp. (10%). The number of parasite species varied from one river to another. I. multifiliis was found in only 3 fish species, Trichodina spp. in 13 species, Glosatella spp. in 6 species, and Mixobollus spp., Dactylogyrus spp., and Gyrodactylus spp. in 7 different species each. The highest number of parasite species (six) were identified in the European chub (Squalius cephalus) and schneider (Alburnoides bipunctatus), which seem more susceptible to parasitic infections. The aquatic environment of these rivers may represent a source of parasites for fish from neighboring countries through which these rivers pass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gheorghe Dărăbuș
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania;
| | | | - Mirela Imre
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania;
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Benovics M, Rahmouni C, Řehulková E, Nejat F, Šimková A. Uncovering the monogenean species diversity of cyprinoid fish in Iraq using an integrative approach. Parasitology 2024; 151:220-246. [PMID: 38116665 PMCID: PMC10941050 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182023001348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The freshwaters of Iraq harbour a high diversity of endemic and phylogenetically unique species. One of the most diversified fish groups in this region is cyprinoids, and although their distribution is relatively well known, their monogenean parasites have only rarely been investigated. Herein, we applied an integrative approach, combining morphology with molecular data, to assess the diversity and phylogeny of cyprinoid-associated monogenean parasites. A total of 33 monogenean species were collected and identified from 13 endemic cyprinoid species. The highest species diversity was recorded for Dactylogyrus (Dactylogyridae, 16 species) and Gyrodactylus (Gyrodactylidae, 12 species). Four species of Dactylogyrus and 12 species of Gyrodactylus were identified as new to science and described. Two other genera, Dogielius (Dactylogyridae) and Paradiplozoon (Diplozoidae), were represented only by 4 and 1 species, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of the Dactylogyrus and Gyrodactylus species revealed that the local congeners do not form a monophyletic group and are phylogenetically closely related to species from other regions (i.e. Europe, North Africa and Eastern Asia). These findings support the assumption that the Middle East served as an important historical crossroads for the interchange of fauna between these 3 geographic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Benovics
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - C. Rahmouni
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - E. Řehulková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - F. Nejat
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - A. Šimková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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Molokomme PS, Benovics M, Luus-Powell WJ, Lukhele LP, Přikrylová I. Dactylogyrus spp. (Dactylogyridae, Monogenea) from tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii imported into South Africa: morphometric and molecular characterisation. Parasite 2023; 30:29. [PMID: 37565987 PMCID: PMC10416761 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2023031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This study reports on three species of Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 (Dactylogyridae) collected from tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Bleeker) which were imported into South Africa as ornamental fish from Sri Lanka and Thailand. Supplementary morphometric characterisation and molecular data (partial 18S and 28S rDNA, and ITS1 region sequences) are presented for Dactylogyrus lampam (Lim & Furtado, 1986), Dactylogyrus tapienensis Chinabut & Lim, 1993 and Dactylogyrus viticulus Chinabut & Lim, 1993. Prevalence of Dactylogyrus spp. infection was 87% and 80% for fish from Sri Lanka and Thailand, respectively. Composition of the parasites between the fish of each origin differed. All three species were found to infect fish from Thailand, but only D. lampam was present on the fish received from Sri Lanka. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the position of studied species, with D. lampam clustering within the lineages of varicorhini-type species, while D. tapienensis and D. viticulus form a sister lineage to Dactylogyrus spp. associated with Cyprinus carpio L. and Carassius spp., species parasitising central African large cyprinids (Labeo Cuvier), and species parasitising African and Middle Eastern Carasobarbus spp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prince S. Molokomme
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DSI-NRF SARChI Chair (Ecosystem Health), Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo Sovenga 0727 South Africa
| | - Michal Benovics
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Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University 611 37 Brno Czech Republic
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Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava 841 04 Bratislava Slovakia
| | - Wilmien J. Luus-Powell
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DSI-NRF SARChI Chair (Ecosystem Health), Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo Sovenga 0727 South Africa
| | - Linda P. Lukhele
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DSI-NRF SARChI Chair (Ecosystem Health), Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo Sovenga 0727 South Africa
| | - Iva Přikrylová
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DSI-NRF SARChI Chair (Ecosystem Health), Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo Sovenga 0727 South Africa
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Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Development, North-West University Potchefstroom 2520 South Africa
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Benovics M, Vukić J, Šanda R, Nejat F, Charmpila EA, Buj I, Shumka S, Porcelloti S, Tarkan SA, Aksu S, Emiroğlu O, Šimková A. Monogeneans and chubs: Ancient host-parasite system under the looking glass. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 179:107667. [PMID: 36400419 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Host-parasite coevolution is one of the fundamentals of evolutionary biology. Due to the intertwined evolutionary history of two interacting species and reciprocal coadaptation processes of hosts and parasites, we can expect that studying parasites will shed more light onto the evolutionary processes of their hosts. Monogenea (ectoparasitic Platyhelminthes) and their cyprinoid fish hosts represent one of the best models for studying host-parasite evolutionary relationships using a cophylogenetic approach. These parasites have developed remarkably high host specificity, where each host species often serves as a potential host for its own host-specific monogenean species. Here, the cophylogenetic relationships in the Dactylogyrus-Squalius system was investigated, as Squalius is one of several cyprinoid genera with puzzling phylogeography and inhabits all four major peri-Mediterranean peninsulas. Of 29 endemic Squalius species examined for the presence of Dactylogyrus parasites, a total of 13 Dactylogyrus species were collected from the gills of 20 Squalius species across a wide range of distribution. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed a polyphyletic origin for Dactylogyrus species parasitizing congeneric Squalius, with four major clades being recognized. On the basis of the delimitation of host specificity, strict specialists parasitizing single host species, geographic specialists parasitizing congeners in a limited geographical region, and true generalists parasitizing congeners in various geographical regions were recognized in Dactylogyrus species parasitizing Squalius. The phylogenetic reconstruction of Squalius hosts revealed two major clades, the first encompassing only peri-Mediterranean species and the second including species from other Euro-Asian regions. Distance-based cophylogenetic methods did not reveal a statistically significant global cophylogenetic structure in the studied system; however, several host-parasite links among Iberian endemic species contributed significantly to the overall structure. The widest host range and associated genetic variability were recorded for D. folkmanovae, parasitizing nine Squalius species, and D. vistulae, parasitizing 13 Squalius species. Two different dispersion mechanisms and morphological adaptations to Squalius hosts were clearly reflected in the contrasting cophylogenetic patterns for these two species with different levels of host specificity. While host-parasite cospeciation plays an important role in diversification within D. folkmanovae, diversification within D. vistulae is driven mainly by host switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Benovics
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - J Vukić
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 2 128 44, Czech Republic.
| | - R Šanda
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 2 128 44, Czech Republic; Department of Zoology, National Museum, Václavské Náměstí 68, Prague 1 110 00, Czech Republic.
| | - F Nejat
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - E A Charmpila
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 2 128 44, Czech Republic.
| | - I Buj
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 100 00 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - S Shumka
- Department of Biotechnology and Food, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
| | - S Porcelloti
- Associazione Ichthyos Italia, Via. A Cecchi 12, 52100 Arezzo, Italy.
| | - S A Tarkan
- Faculty of Fisheries, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Menteşe 480 00, Muğla, Turkey; Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
| | - S Aksu
- Vocational School of Health Services, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Büyükdere Meşelik Yerleşkesi, 26040 Eskişehir, Turkey.
| | - O Emiroğlu
- Vocational School of Health Services, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Büyükdere Meşelik Yerleşkesi, 26040 Eskişehir, Turkey.
| | - A Šimková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
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Benovics M, Gettová L, Šimková A. De novo developed microsatellite markers in gill parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus (Monogenea): Revealing the phylogeographic pattern of population structure in the generalist parasite Dactylogyrus vistulae. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:16585-16599. [PMID: 34938459 PMCID: PMC8668815 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Approaches using microsatellite markers are considered the gold standard for modern population genetic studies. However, although they have found application in research into various platyhelminth taxa, they remained substantially underutilized in the study of monogeneans. In the present study, a newly developed set of 24 microsatellite markers was used to investigate the genetic diversity of the generalist monogenean species Dactylogyrus vistulae. The analyzed parasite specimens were collected from 13 cyprinoid species from 11 sites in the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas. A total of 159 specimens were genotyped at each of the loci and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 16, with a mean number of 6.958 alleles per locus. Exceptionally high genetic diversity was observed among D. vistulae individuals in the southern Balkans (mean N A per locus = 3.917), suggesting that generalist D. vistulae expanded from the south to the north in the Balkans and later into central Europe. The initial clustering analysis divided all investigated specimens into three major clusters; however, the results of the subsequent analyses revealed the existence of various subpopulations, suggesting that the population structure of D. vistulae is associated with the diversification of their cyprinoid hosts. In addition, the partition of the parasite population was observed in regions of the sympatric occurrence of two host species, indicating that these hosts may represent a barrier for gene flow, even for generalist parasite species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Benovics
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Gettová
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Šimková
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
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Benovics M, Nejat F, Abdoli A, Šimková A. Molecular and morphological phylogeny of host-specific Dactylogyrus parasites (Monogenea) sheds new light on the puzzling Middle Eastern origin of European and African lineages. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:372. [PMID: 34289869 PMCID: PMC8293574 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04863-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Freshwater fauna of the Middle East encompass elements shared with three continents—Africa, Asia, and Europe—and the Middle East is, therefore, considered a historical geographic crossroad between these three regions. Even though various dispersion scenarios have been proposed to explain the current distribution of cyprinids in the peri-Mediterranean, all of them congruently suggest an Asian origin for this group. Herein, we investigated the proposed scenarios using monogenean parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus, which is host-specific to cyprinoid fishes. Methods A total of 48 Dactylogyrus species parasitizing cyprinids belonging to seven genera were used for molecular phylogenetic reconstruction. Taxonomically important morphological features, i.e., sclerotized elements of the attachment organ, were further evaluated to resolve ambiguous relationships between individual phylogenetic lineages. For 37 species, sequences of partial genes coding 18S and 28S rRNA, and the ITS1 region were retrieved from GenBank. Ten Dactylogyrus species collected from Middle Eastern cyprinoids and D. falciformis were de novo sequenced for the aforementioned molecular markers. Results The phylogenetic reconstruction divided all investigated Dactylogyrus species into four phylogenetic clades. The first one encompassed species with the “varicorhini” type of haptoral ventral bar with a putative origin linked to the historical dispersion of cyprinids via the North African coastline. The second clade included the majority of the investigated species parasitizing various phylogenetically divergent cyprinid hosts. The morphological and molecular data suggest the ancestral diversification of the species of this clade into two groups: (1) the group possessing the haptoral ventral bar of the “cornu” type, and (2) the group possessing the “wunderi” type. Dactylogyrus diversification apparently occurred in the Middle East, which is indicated by the presence of species with all morphotypes in the region. The last two clades included species parasitizing cyprinids with an East Asian origin, and species possessing the “magnihamatus” type of ventral bar. Conclusions The molecular data suggest that some morphological characters of host-specific parasites may undergo convergent evolution in the divergent lineages, and therefore, to fully resolve the phylogenetic relationships among host-specific parasites, an integrative approach combining morphological and molecular data is still needed. In addition, our study indicates that parasite diversity in many regions is still under-explored, and thus we highlight the importance of studies of host-associated parasites, especially in the context of freshwater fish biogeography. Graphical Abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Benovics
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic. .,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - Farshad Nejat
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Asghar Abdoli
- Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Science Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Shahid Shahriari Sq. Velenjak, 1983969411, Tehran, Iran
| | - Andrea Šimková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
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