title: Molecular phylogeny ofMyxobolus orissae(Myxosporea: Myxobolidae) infecting the gill lamellae of mrigal carpCirrhinus mrigala(Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae).
abstract: Myxosporeans are best known for the diseases they cause in commercially important fish species. Identification of myxosporeans at the species-level is mainly based on conventional methods. The 18S rRNA gene sequence of morphologically identifiedMyxobolus orissaeinfecting the gill lamellae of mrigal carpCirrhinus mrigalawas characterized in the present study. The plasmodia ofM.orissaewere small, elongated and white to pale in colour. Phylogenetically, the 18S rDNA nucleotide sequence ofM.orissaewas clustered with other gill-infectingMyxobolusspp. of cyprinids. The species closely related toM. orissaewasM. koi(FJ841887) infecting the gill lamellae ofCyprinus carpiowith 96% similarity. The carp fin-infectingThelohanelluscaudatus(KC865607) from India exhibited only 78% DNA sequence similarity withM. orissae.Low level ofM. orissaeinfection on gill caused thickening of epithelial cells surrounding the plasmodium. Under stressful conditions, it is likely that such infection can easily spread in confined fish and may cause serious disease outbreaks and economical losses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Thangapalam Jawahar
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Sayani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Avijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Agniswar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Harresh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adikesavalu
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Animal Health, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Gadadhar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dash
keywords: Cirrhinus mrigala; Molecular characterization; Myxobolus orissae; Phylogenetic relationship