Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T06:33:26.791Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spore ornamentation of Minchinia occulta n. sp. (Haplosporidia) in rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata (Born, 1778)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2008

D. BEARHAM ,
Z. SPIERS ,
S. R. RAIDAL ,
J. B. JONES  and
P. K. NICHOLLS
D. BEARHAM*
Affiliation:
Fish Health Unit, Murdoch University, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch Drive, Murdoch, Western Australia6150
Z. SPIERS
Affiliation:
Fish Health Unit, Murdoch University, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch Drive, Murdoch, Western Australia6150
S. R. RAIDAL
Affiliation:
Charles Sturt University, School of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia
J. B. JONES
Affiliation:
Fish Health Unit, Department of Fisheries, Animal Health Labs, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia6151
P. K. NICHOLLS
Affiliation:
Fish Health Unit, Murdoch University, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch Drive, Murdoch, Western Australia6150
*
*Corresponding author: School of Veterinary and Biomedical Science, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia6150. Tel: +61 08 9360 2479. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A Minchinia sp. (Haplosporidia: Haplosporidiidae) parasite was identified infecting rock oysters and morphologically described by Hine and Thorne (2002) using light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The parasite was associated with up to 80% mortality in the host species and it is suspected that the parasite would be a major impediment to the development of a tropical rock oyster aquaculture industry in northern Western Australia. However, attempts to identify the parasite following the development of a specific probe for Haplosporidium nelsoni were unsuccessful. The SSU region of the parasite's rRNA gene was later characterized in our laboratory and an in situ hybridization assay for the parasite was developed. This study names the parasite as Minchinia occulta n sp. and morphologically describes the parasite using histology, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The non-spore stages were unusual in that they consisted primarily of uninucleate stages reminiscent of Bonamia spp. The parasite's spores were ovoid to circular shaped and measured 4·5 μm–5·0 μm×3·5–4·1 μm in size. The nucleus of the sporoplasm measured 1·5–2·3 μm and was centrally located. The spores were covered in a branching network of microtubule-like structures that may degrade as the spore matures.

Keywords

molecular probesHaplosporidiaSaccostrea cuccullataMinchiniarock oysterSSU rRNA geneparasiteaquaculture
Type
Original Articles
Information
Parasitology , Volume 135 , Issue 11 , September 2008 , pp. 1271 - 1280
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anon (2002). Import Risk Analysis (IRA) of Non-Viable Bivalve Molluscs. Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry-Australia, Canberra.Google Scholar
Anon (2004). The Health Status of Western Australian Aquaculture. Department of Fisheries, WA.Google Scholar
Azevedo, C. (2001). Ultrastructural description of the spore maturation stages of the clam parasite Minchinia tapetis (Vilela, 1951) (Haplosporida: Haplosporidiidae). Systematic Parasitology 49, 189–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Azevedo, C., Montes, J. and Corral, L. (1999). A revised description of Haplosporidium armoricanum, parasite of Ostrea edulis L. from Galicia, northwestern Spain, with special reference to the spore-wall filaments. Parasitological Research 85, 977–983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, S. J. (1980). Fine structure of the spores of Minchinia chitonis (Lankester, 1885) Labbe 1896 (Sporozoa: Haplosporidia), a parasite of the chiton, Lepidochitona cinereus. Parasitology 81, 169–176.Google Scholar
Bearham, D., Spiers, Z., Raidal, S., Burreson, E. M., Jones, J. B. and Nicholls, P. K. (2008 a). Spore ornamentation of Haplosporidium hinei n. sp. (Haplosporidia) in pearl oysters Pinctada maxima (Jameson, 1901). Parasitology 135, 521–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bearham, D., Spiers, Z., Raidal, S., Jones, J. B. and Nicholls, P. K. (2007). Molecular characterisation of a haplosporidian parasite infecting rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata in north Western Australia. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 95, 33–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bearham, D., Spiers, Z., Raidal, S., Jones, J. B. and Nicholls, P. K. (2008 b). Detection of Minchinia sp., in rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata (Born, 1778) using DNA probes. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 97, 50–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burreson, E. M. (2001). Spore ornamentation of Haplosporidium pickfordi Barrow, 1961 (Haplosporidia), a parasite of freshwater snails in Michigan, USA. Journal of Eukaryote Microbiology 48, 622–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burreson, E. M. and Ford, S. E. (2004). A review of recent information on the Haplosporidia, with special reference to Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX disease). Aquatic Living Resources 17, 499–517.Google Scholar
Burreson, E. M. and Reece, K. S. (2006). Spore ornamentation of Haplosporidium nelsoni and Haplosporidium costale (Haplosporidia), and incongruence of molecular phylogeny and spore ornamentation in the Haplosporidia. Journal of Parasitology 92, 1295–1301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burreson, E. M., Stokes, N. A. and Friedman, C. S. (2000). Increased virulence in an introduced pathogen: Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) in the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 12, 1–8.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnegie, R. B., Barber, B. J. and Distel, D. L. (2003). Detection of the oyster parasite Bonamia ostreae by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 55, 247–252.Google Scholar
Carnegie, R. B., Burreson, E. M., Hine, P. M., Stokes, N. A., Audemard, C., Bishop, M. J. and Peterson, C. H. (2006). Bonamia perspora n. sp. (Haplosporidia), a parasite of the oyster Ostreola equestris is the first Bonamia species known to produce spores. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 53, 232–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavalier-Smith, T. and Chao, E. E. Y. (2003). Phylogeny of Coanozoa, Apusozoa, and Protozoa and early eukaryote megaevolution. Journal of Molecular Evolution 56, 540–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Comps, M. and Tige, G. (1997). Fine structure of Minchinia sp., A haplosporidian infecting the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis L. Systematic Parasitology 38, 45–50.Google Scholar
Hine, P. M. and Thorne, T. (1998). Haplosporidium sp. (Haplosporidia) in hatchery-reared pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima (Jameson, 1901), in north Western Australia. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 71, 48–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hine, P. M. and Thorne, T. (2002). Haplosporidium sp. (Alveolata: Haplosporidia) associated with mortalities among rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata in north Western Australia. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 51, 123–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Humphrey, J. D., Norton, J. H., Jones, J. B., Barton, M. A., Connell, M. T., Shelley, C. C. and Creeper, J. H. (1998). Pearl oyster (Pinctada maxima) Aquaculture: Health survey of Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland pearl oyster beds and farms. Fisheries Western Australia. Northern Territory Department of Primary industry and Fisheries. Queensland Department of Primary Industries. Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.Google Scholar
McGovern, E. R. and Burreson, E. M. (1990). Ultrastructure of Minchinia sp. spores from shipworms (Teredo sp.) in western North Atlantic, with a discussion of taxonomy of the Haplosporidiidae. Journal of Protozoology 37, 212–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, R. (1996). Western Australia: Shellfish Diseases. Animal Health Surveillance Quarterly 1, 6.Google Scholar
Ormieres, R. (1980). Haplosporidium parisi n. sp. Haplosporidie parasite de Serpula vermicularis L. etude ultrastructure de la spore. Protistologica 16, 467–474.Google Scholar
Ormieres, R. and De Puytorac, P. (1968). Ultrastructure des spores de l'haplosporidie Haplosporidium ascidiarium endoparasite du Tunicier Sydnium elegans Giard. Academy of Sciences, Paris (Ser D) 266, 1134–1136.Google Scholar
Perkins, F. O. (1969). Electron microscope studies of sporulation in the oyster pathogen Minchinia costalis (Sporozoa: Haplosporida). Journal of Parasitology 55, 897–920.Google Scholar
Perkins, F. O. (1975). Fine structure of Minchinia sp. (Haplosporida) sporulation in the mud crab, Panopeus herbstii. Marine Fish Review 37, 46–60.Google Scholar
Reece, K. S., Siddall, M. E., Stokes, N. A. and Burreson, E. M. (2004). Molecular phylogeny of the Haplosporidia based on two independent gene sequences. Journal of Parasitology 90, 1111–1122.Google Scholar
SCFH (1993). Report of AHC Sub-Committee on Fish Health. Standing Committee on Agriculture, Queenscliff, Victoria.Google Scholar