title: The phylogenetic position ofMyxoboluscarnaticus(Myxozoa, Myxosporea, Bivalvulida) infecting gill lamellae ofCirrhinus mrigala(Hamilton, 1822) based on 18S rRNA sequence analysis.
abstract: Myxozoans are an economically important group of microscopic parasites best known for the diseases they cause in commercially important fish hosts. The classification of myxosporeans is generally based on the morphology of their myxospores. Without molecular data, it is very difficult to identify new or existing species. DNA sequence information is therefore, a prerequisite to taxonomic and phylogenic studies of myxosporeans. In the present study, a myxozoan parasite,Myxobolus carnaticus, infecting the gill lamellae of mrigal carp,Cirrhinus mrigala, was characterized by the 18S rRNA gene sequence. The DNA sequence ofM. carnaticusclustered phylogenetically with other gill infectingMyxobolusspp. of freshwater clades, forming a dichotomy with closely relatedM. pavlovskii(HM991164) that infects the gill lamellae epithelium of silver carp,Hypophthalmichthys molitrixwith 95% similarity. Evolutionary pair-wise distances amongM. carnaticusand other species of myxosporeans indicated high genetic diversity among myxosporeans. The present study demonstrated that tissue tropism, host specificity and habitat play important roles in phylogenetic relationships among myxozoan species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West BengalUniversity of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Chakgaria, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Sayani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West BengalUniversity of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Chakgaria, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Avijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West BengalUniversity of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Chakgaria, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Harresh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adikesavalu
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West BengalUniversity of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Chakgaria, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Anjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West BengalUniversity of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Chakgaria, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Thangapalam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jawahar Abraham
keywords: Cirrhinus mrigala; Molecular phylogeny; Myxobolus carnaticus; gill myxoboliasis