Myxosporean parasites of marine fishes: their distribution in the world's oceans

Abstract

Myxosporeans are among the most common parasites of marine fish. Their economic importance is mainly as pathogens of both wild and farmed fish, but they have also been used as biological tags in population studies of their fish hosts. Here we review the literature and show the distribution of different families of Myxosporea infecting marine fishes in the world's oceans - the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian. We also analyse their distribution in different orders of marine fishes. New families, genera and species of marine Myxosporea are continually being described and many more await description. Some regions, in particular the North Atlantic, have been more thoroughly investigated than others, so the analyses we present may not reflect the true distributions and we acknowledge that these may change considerably as other regions are investigated more fully. The distribution of myxosporean families in different taxonomic groups of marine fishes can indicate phylogenetic relationships between parasite and host and suggest the origins of different myxosporean taxa. We present some examples, while recognizing that new molecular information on phylogenetic relationships within the Myxozoa will lead to major changes in classification.

Marine fish parasites of Vietnam: a comprehensive review and updated list of species, hosts, and zoogeographical distribution

“…However, myxozoans have recently been reported in a low proportion in Vietnamese marine waters (0.09% equal to 2 species) when compared to other groups. However, Mackenzie and Kalavati [79] reported 223 myxosporean parasites from North Pacific marine fish, identifying them as one of the most common parasite groups in marine fish [79]. Thus, the true diversity of myxozoans in Vietnam is expected to be much higher than the current findings.…”

Proteomic Analysis of the Parasitic Cnidarian Ceratonova shasta (Cnidaria: Myxozoa) Reveals Diverse Roles of Actin in Motility and Spore Formation

“…Myxozoans (myxosporeans) are unique within the Cnidaria, in that they are spore-forming parasites whose life cycles alternate between vertebrate (mostly fish) and invertebrate (mostly annelid) hosts. They are among the most common fish parasites (Mackenzie and Kalavati, 2014); however, they can also infect other vertebrate groups such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and even terrestrial mammals (Hallett et al, 2015;Hartigan et al, 2016b, and references therein). Transmission occurs via two types of waterborne spores: myxospores, which are produced in the fish host and infect the invertebrate host, and actinospores, which operate in the opposite direction (Wolf and Markiw, 1984;Bartholomew et al, 1997;Canning and Okamura, 2003;Lom and Dyková, 2006).…”

Molecular Characterization of the Myoliquefactive Fish Parasite Kudoa mirabilis (Cnidaria, Kudoidae) from SW Indian Ocean and Its Phylogenetic Relationship with the Kudoa thyrsites Species Complex

“…Myxosporeans (Cnidaria, Myxozoa) are microscopic endoparasites commonly found in marine and freshwater fish [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The genus Kudoa Meglitsch, 1947 currently consists of around 100 nominal species described from a wide range of fish host species and geographical areas [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”