Evidence of <i>Centrocestus formosanus</i> (Nishigori, 1924) in Zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>)

Iaria, Carmelo; Migliore, Sergio; Macrì, D.; Bivona, Maurizio; Capparucci, Fabiano; Gaglio, Gabriella; Marino, Fabio

doi:10.1089/zeb.2019.1744

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The present study reports on the occurrence of C. formosanus metacercariae in the gills of zebrafish previously intended for research. To the authors' knowledge, this is the second report of C. formosanus infections in zebrafish imported in Italy [32]. Since the scarce and fragmentary data in the European literature [19,32,40] are probably due to underestimated and underdiagnosed infections, we propose to increase the awareness and ameliorate the diagnostic investigations, to shed light on this zoonosis, using a morphological and molecular approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…To the authors' knowledge, this is the second report of C. formosanus infections in zebrafish imported in Italy [32]. Since the scarce and fragmentary data in the European literature [19,32,40] are probably due to underestimated and underdiagnosed infections, we propose to increase the awareness and ameliorate the diagnostic investigations, to shed light on this zoonosis, using a morphological and molecular approach. In particular, we propose for the first time a fast and specific diagnostic method based on a species-specific primer pair to detect the presence of this new invasive species in Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Extracted DNA samples were stored at −80 • C until the molecular analyses described here. The detection of C. formosanus DNA was performed by PCR targeting the ribosomal internal transcribed sequence 2 (ITS2), using the primer pair 3S (5 -GGTACCGGTGGATCACTCGGCTCGTG-3 ) and BD2 (5 -TATGCTTAAATTCAGCGGGT-3 ), previously described [10,32]. As these primers are not specific for C. formosanus, we designed the species-specific reverse primer ITS2_Centr_R (5 -CGTGCAATGTTTGCATCGGA-3 ) and used it together with the forward primer ITS2_Centr_F (5 -ATGAAGAGCGCAGCCAACT-3 ) to amplify a 393 bp fragment of the ITS2 region of C. formosanus.…”

Section: Pcr Amplification and Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the numerous freshwater fish species affected by C. formosanus [23,25], zebrafish (Danio rerio) have been considered susceptible to infection, but only three reports have been described to date [10,21,32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Danio rerio is a freshwater fish native to Asia, although it is widely distributed worldwide, probably due both to aquarists' predilection and researchers' interest as an animal model [32][33][34][35][36]. On the one hand, D. rerio is one of the top 30 species in the ornamental fish industry, whose on-going growth (approximately 120 countries and 1.5 billion ornamental fish per year) has led to difficulties in supply, traceability, sustainability, susceptibility to disease, and antibiotic resistance [35,37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diagnosis of Centrocestus formosanus Infection in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) in Italy: A Window to a New Globalization-Derived Invasive Microorganism

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Centrocestus formosanus is a digenetic trematode with a complex life cycle, involving invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, humans included. In particular, it causes gill lesions and mortality in freshwater fish species, and gastrointestinal symptoms in infected humans. Here, we describe the occurrence of C. formosanus infection in zebrafish imported in Italy and propose a newly designed species-specific primer pair to ameliorate the diagnostic investigations for C. formosanus. Gill arches of 30 zebrafish were examined for the presence of encysted metacercariae under a stereomicroscope and processed through molecular analyses targeting the ribosomal internal transcribed sequence 2 (ITS2). Although C. formosanus distribution was originally restricted to Asia, it has been subsequently reported in new countries, revealing itself as an invasive species and raising important concerns for biodiversity, economy, scientific research, as well as animal and public health. Given the crucial role played by the ornamental fish industry in spreading this parasite, there is an urgent need for control measures to prevent the introduction and establishment of C. formosanus in non-endemic areas, including Europe. We also suggest developing new strategies in microbiology and epidemiology to better explore this new globalization-derived invasive species.

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