A single host species but how many Gyrodactylus species? An Anfrican case of Clarias gariepinus
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | In natural habitat sharptooth catfish, C. gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) is widely distributed in Africa. Currently African catfishes are known to be hosts to 12 Gyrodactylus von Nordmann, 1832 species, of which seven have been described from C. gariepinus. During the period August 2011 - May 2013, several localities were sampled to establish gyrodactylid parasites diversity in the southern African region. In total 28 specimens of C. gariepinus were collected on several spots in South Africa (Flag-Bushielo Dam and Loskop Sand River, Limpopo Province) and Zimbabwe (Zambezi River and Lake Kariba). Parasites were removed from fins and gills, fixed on the slides in glicerin ammonium picrate for morphometric analyses and in 96% ethanol for molecular characterization. The Gyrodactylus prevalence was noted to be 43%. Species identification based on hard parts morphometry and nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences identified the presence of 8 different Gyrodactylus species, of which three are currently known, G. gelnari Přikrylová, Blažek & Vanhove, 2012, G. rysavyi Ergens, 1973 and G. transvaalensis Prudhoe &Hussey, 1977. Detailed morphological analyses revealed clear differences in the shape and size of taxonomically important structures between the species examined. Phylogenetic analyses, the maximum likelihood, neighbor joining and Bayesian inference analyses, assisted in revealing interspecific relationships. |
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