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Phylogenetic relationships of three Kudoa spp. with morphologically similar myxospores (K. iwatai, K. lutjanus, and K. bora), with the redescription of K. uncinata and K. petala and description of a new species (K. fujitai n. sp.) in fishes in the South China Sea

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Abstract

Members of the myxozoan genus Kudoa (Myxosporea: Multivalvulida: Kudoidae) are characterized as having four or more shell valves in a myxospore, with a corresponding number of polar capsules. Certain Kudoa spp. are critical pathogens in fish, causing postmortem myoliquefaction, unmarketable fish musculature due to unsightly macroscopic cysts, and reduced aquaculture production due to the outbreaks of neurological symptoms or cardiac diseases. Molecular genetic techniques have enabled the differentiation of Kudoa spp. with morphologically similar myxospores. In the present study, we employed integrated taxonomic approaches on five Kudoa spp. forming cysts between the trunk muscle myofibers (K. bora from Osteomugil perusii and K. lutjanus from Acanthopagrus latus), or cysts in the gallbladder wall (K. petala from Sillago sihama), and pseudocysts in the trunk muscle myofibers (K. uncinata from Nuchequula nuchalis and K. fujitai n. sp. from O. perusii). These four host fishes, which originated in the South China Sea, were purchased in the wet markets in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China, between August 2016 and April 2018. We have redescribed the four Kudoa spp. (K. bora, K. lutjanus, K. petala, and K. uncinata) on which little data are available after their original descriptions. Particularly, genetic characterization of K. bora and K. lutjanus, which are known to have myxospores morphologically similar to those of K. iwatai, was performed based on the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene and partial mitochondrial DNA genes such as cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and small and large ribosomal genes, demonstrating the validity and independence of these three kudoid species. We also provide description of a new species—K. fujitai n. sp.—in the present study. Application of integrated taxonomic approaches to known species characterized solely based on morphological criteria, as well as unknown species (e.g., K. fujitai n. sp. in the present study), contributes to better understanding of the biodiversity of Kudoa and multivalvulid myxosporeans.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Prof. Hiroyuki Motomura (Kagoshima University Museum) for his assistance in the taxonomic identification of the host fish species and Prof. Emeritus Shuhei Tanaka (Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University) for his help with the scanning electron microscopy of Kudoa myxospores (not shown in the present study).

Funding

This study was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Ph.D. Researcher (No: R17022) from the Faculty of Agricultural Science, Guangdong Ocean University (YCL), Grant-in-Aid for Food Science and Research 2017 from The Towa Foundation (HS), Grant-in-Aid for Food Science and Research 2019 from The Toyo Suisan Foundation (HS), Grant-in-Aid for International Collaboration Research 2019 from the Goho life Sciences International Fund (JYZ), and JSPS KAKENHI grant number 18 K05995 (HS). Special thanks are extended to the United Graduate School of Veterinary Science, Yamaguchi University, and Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Science, for supporting international collaborative research (travel grants for YCL and JYZ, respectively).

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  1. Faculty of Agricultural Science, Guangdong Ocean University, Mazhang, Zhanjiang, 524088, Guangdong, China

    Ying-Chun Li

  2. Laboratory of Parasitology, Joint Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-8515, Japan

    Ken Inoue & Hiroshi Sato

  3. Fish Diseases Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Jin-Yong Zhang

  4. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Airlangga University, Campus C, Mulyorejo, Surabaya, 60115, Indonesia

    Hiroshi Sato

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Li, YC., Inoue, K., Zhang, JY. et al. Phylogenetic relationships of three Kudoa spp. with morphologically similar myxospores (K. iwatai, K. lutjanus, and K. bora), with the redescription of K. uncinata and K. petala and description of a new species (K. fujitai n. sp.) in fishes in the South China Sea. Parasitol Res 119, 1221–1236 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06636-0

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