title: Molecular and morphometric characteristics of Ceratomyxa hamour n. sp. (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) infecting the gallbladder of the orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides from the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Ceratomyxa hamour n. sp. was found to infect the gallbladder of the orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides located off the Saudi Arabian coast of the Arabian Gulf. The infection was reported as a free-floating spore in the bile, and pseudoplasmodia were not observed. Mature spores were crescent-shaped and measured on average 7 μm in length and 16 μm in thickness. The polar capsule, meanwhile, had length to width measurements of 4 μm and 3 μm on average. A periodical survey was conducted throughout a sampling period between December 2012 and December 2013, with the results showing that the parasite was present throughout the year with a mean prevalence of 32.6%. The objective of this study was to characterize this new species based on its morphological and molecular differences from previously described species. Molecular analysis based on the partial sequence of the SSU rDNA gene, showed the highest similarity (97.8%) to Ceratomyxa buri, reported in the cultured yellow tail Seriola quinqueradiata in Japan. Indeed, C. buri and the new species described here formed an individual cluster with a high degree of bootstrap support. This is the first reported species of genus Ceratomyxa from the Arabian Gulf fishes off Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Unité de Recherche de Biologie intégrative et Ecologie évolutive et Fonctionnelle des Milieux Aquatiques, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université De Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Lamjed
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.forename: Hussain A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Al-Qahtani
authors.forename: Saleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Quraishy
authors.forename: Abdel-Azeem S
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Abdel-Baki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000469:parasitology; D055764:Myxozoa / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal; D010473:Perciformes / Q000469:parasitology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D013170:Spores / Q000145:classification / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
keywords: Bile; Myxozoa; new species; parasite; phylogeny