Loading...
Conservation in the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) region of Hematodinium perezi (genotype III) from Callinectes sapidus
Lohan, KMP Small, Hamish J Shields, Jeffrey D. Place, AR Reece, Kimberly S
Lohan, KMP
Small, Hamish J
Shields, Jeffrey D.
Place, AR
Reece, Kimberly S
Abstract
Hematodinium spp. infections have been reported from blue crabs Callinectes sapidus in high-salinity waters of the USA from New Jersey to Texas. Recently, H. perezi (genotype III) has been proposed as the parasite species and genotype infecting blue crabs from Virginia; however, it is unknown whether this same genotype is present in blue crabs from other locations. To address this question, we collected 317 blue crabs from Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas to test for the presence of H. perezi (III) using a specific PCR assay targeting the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) region of the ribosomal RNA gene complex. To examine the genetic variation within H. perezi (III), ITS1 region sequences from the parasite in blue crabs from multiple locations were compared to each other and to those of H. perezi (III) found in alternate hosts from Virginia. In total, 34 distinct ITS1 sequence variants of the parasite were identified from blue crabs alone, and 38 distinct variants were identified when alternate hosts were included. However, a single ITS1 sequence variant appeared in all geographic regions and hosts, and also in blue crabs sampled from a previous study. The high similarity among all the ITS1 region sequences examined (>98%) and the observation of a single variant found throughout a large geographic range, strongly suggests that a single species and genotype of Hematodinium, specifically H. perezi (III), infects blue crabs from Virginia to Texas and multiple alternate host species in Virginia.
Description
Date
2013-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Collections
Download Dataset
Files
Loading...
d103p065.pdf
Adobe PDF, 343.42 KB
Rights Holder
Usage License
Embargo
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Aquatic Health Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles, Blue-Crab; Parasitic Dinoflagellate; Ribosomal-Rna; Protistan Parasite; Perkinsus-Marinus; Alternate Hosts; Chesapeake Bay; Sp Alveolata; N-Sp; Crustaceans
Citation
Advisor
Department
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02559