Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2016
Journal
Diseases Of Aquatic Organisms
Volume
122
Issue
1
First Page
35
Last Page
41
Abstract
The recent discovery of Perkinsus honshuensis, a new Perkinsus species infecting Manila clams Ruditapes philippinarum (Sowerby, 1852), in Japan, suggested that, based on proximity, P. honshuensis could also be in Korean waters, where to date, P. olseni was believed to be the only Perkinsus species present. Perkinsus sp. infections consistently occurred among Ruditapes variegatus clams on a pebble beach on Jeju Island, off the south coast of Korea. The typical 'signet ring' morphology of the parasite was observed in the connective tissue of the digestive gland, and infection intensity was comparatively low (3.3 x 10(3) +/- 1.2 x 10(4) to 1.3 x 10(4) +/- 6.1 x 10(4) cells g(-1) gill weight). Further DNA analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2) and non-transcribed spacer (NTS) regions of the parasite showed 98.9-99.8 and 98.5-99.5% similarity to those of P. honshuensis from Japan, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses using ITS and NTS sequences indicated that Perkinsus sp. from Jeju formed a highly supported clade with P. honshuensis. This is the first report of P. honshuensis infections in clams in Korean waters and the first report of R. variegatus as a host for that parasite.
DOI
10.3354/dao03063
Keywords
Manila Clams; Philippinarum; Spp.; Olseni
Recommended Citation
Kang, HS; Yang, HS; Reece, Kimberly S.; Hong, HK; Park, KI; and Choi, KS, First report of Perkinsus honshuensis in the variegated carpet shell clam Ruditapes variegatus in Korea (2016). Diseases Of Aquatic Organisms, 122(1), 35-41.
10.3354/dao03063
