Biodiversity and Parasitological Characteristics of Myxozoa (Cnidaria) Infecting European Seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758) In the Aegean Sea Coasts of Türkiye

Abstract

In this study, diversity and parasitological features of Myxozoan parasites infecting Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758) grown in sea cages located in the coasts of İzmir and Muğla districts of Türkiye were investigated. For this aim, a total of 240 host specimens were examined and 147 of them (61.25%) determined to be infected by Myxozoan parasites. Based on the morphology of the myxospores examined, the presence of one species belonging to the genus Kudoa Meglitsch, 1947 and two different species within the genus Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 were determined. Depending on phylogenetic relationships obtained from 18S rDNA nucleotide sequence data, Kudoa specimens were assigned to K. dicentrarchi Sitjà-Bobadilla & Álvarez-Pellitero, 1992 and Ceratomyxa species were assigned to C. diplodae Lubat, Radujkovic, Marques & Bouix, 1989 and C. labracis Sitjà-Bobadilla & Álvarez-Pellitero, 1993. The K. dicentrarchi specimens were found in the gallbladder and gonads of the European seabass with 38.75% prevalence of infection. Ceratomyxa diplodae and C. labracis were only found in the bile with 37.92% and 2.5% prevalence of infections, respectively. This study presents the first record of C. diplodae and C. labracis in D. labrax from the Turkish marine environment. Moreover, this research contributes the initial molecular record for K. dicentrarchi identified in D. labrax from the Turkish coastline.