title: Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria ascidiae in an inland culture system.
abstract: An important way to keep transgenic and mutant lines of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, a model system for e.g. genetic functions, in laboratories is via culturing systems. Here we report a disease of C. intestinalis observed in an inland culturing system. The disease, called 'long feces syndrome,' is expressed in affected animals by the following characteristic symptoms of the digestive system: (1) excretion of long and thin feces, (2) pale color of the stomach, and (3) congestion of the digestive tube by digested material. Severely diseased animals usually die within a week after the first symptoms occur, implying a high risk of this disease for ascidian culturing systems. The digestive tubes of the diseased animals are occupied by the gregarine apicomplexan parasite Lankesteria ascidiae, suggesting that large-scale infection by this parasite is the cause of long feces syndrome.
authors: Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan.
authors: Kaoru
authors: K
authors: Mita
authors: Narudo
authors: N
authors: Kawai
authors: Sonja
authors: S
authors: Rueckert
authors: Yasunori
authors: Y
authors: Sasakura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017756:Aquaculture; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010802:Phylogeny