title: Potaspora aequidens n. sp. (Microsporidia, Tetramicridae), a parasite infecting the freshwater fish Aequidens plagiozonatus (Teleostei, Cichlidae) from Brazil.
abstract: Morphological and molecular procedures were used to describe a new species of microsporidian that infects the muscles of the sub-opercular region and the caudal fins of the freshwater Aequidens plagiozonatus in Brazil. This microsporidian forms whitish xenomas containing variable number of spores, reaching up to ~0.4 mm in diameter. The mature spores, pyriformin shape, with slightly round ends, measured 3.4 ± 0.5 μm long and 1.9 ± 0.3 μm wide (n = 50) and showed characteristics typical of Microsporidia. The average thickness of the spore wall was 100 (96-108) nm (n = 50), and the spore wall was composed of two layers, a thin, electron-dense exospore and a thick electron-transparent endospore. The exospore was surrounded by a thin, irregular layer of granular material. The anchoring disc was mushroom-like, located in the apical region of the spore in an eccentric position relative to the spore axis, rendering bilateral asymmetry to the spore. The anterior part of the polar filament (PF) (manubrium) measured approximately 125 (122-128) nm thick (n = 30), and the angle of tilt between the anterior PF and the spore axis was ~45°; the posterior part was packed in 8-9 coils. Phylogenetic analysis showed a strongly supported clade containing family Spragueidae Weissenberg, 1976, family Tetramicridae Matthews and Matthews, 1980, Microsporidium sp. RBS1, and Kabatana spp. In conclusion, the available morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular data shows that this microsporidian is a new species belonging to group 4, classified as Potaspora aequidens n. sp. This is the second species described in the genus Potaspora.
authors: Laboratory of Morphophysiology and Animal Sanity, University of Amapá State (UEAP), Macapá, Amapa, Brazil.
authors: Marcela
authors: M
authors: Videira
authors: Graça
authors: G
authors: Casal
authors: Sónia
authors: S
authors: Rocha
authors: Evonnildo
authors: E
authors: Gonçalves
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Azevedo
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Velasco
authors: Edilson Rodrigues
authors: ER
authors: Matos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D023681:Cichlids / Q000469:parasitology*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000469:parasitology; D016814:Microsporidia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D021861:Microsporidia, Unclassified / Q000235:genetics; D016881:Microsporidiosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny