Morphological and molecular identification of Cryptocotyle lingua metacercariae isolated from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from Danish seas and whiting (Merlangius merlangus) from the English Channel

• Published in: Parasitology Research
• Main Authors: Duflot, Maureen, Gay, Mélanie, Midelet, Graziella, Kania, Per Walter, Buchmann, Kurt
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de sécurité des aliments de Maisons-Alfort (LSAl), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Laboratoire de Boulogne sur mer, Anses, Région Hauts-de-France, MED VET NET, Ecole doctorale SMRE, Laboratory of Aquatic Pathobiology of the University of Copenhagen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Cryptocotyle Morphological identification Molecular identification Heterophyidae English Channel Whiting; Cryptocotyle; Morphological identification; Molecular identification; Heterophyidae; English Channel; Whiting; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; atlantic cod; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03997666; https://hal.science/hal-03997666/document; https://hal.science/hal-03997666/file/Duflot2021_Article_MorphologicalAndMolecularIdent.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07278-6

International audience Trematode larvae (metacercariae) causing black spot disease occur frequently in gills, fins, skin and the superficial muscle layers of marine fish. Species within the genus Cryptocotyle Lühe, 1899 are frequently associated with this disease. Descriptions of the metacercarial stage are relatively limited and none has hitherto been reported from fish from the English Channel. The present study reports the morphological and molecular identifications of encysted black spot-inducing parasites from whiting ( Merlangius merlangus ) and Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) caught respectively from the north coast of France (English Channel) and from Danish sea waters. Metacercariae were characterised morphologically based on microscopic observations and molecularly using Sanger sequencing of fragments of the mitochondrial cox1 gene and rDNA ITS region. Morphological data were compared with available data in the literature. Phylogenetic trees including reference sequences were built to confirm morphological and molecular identifications. This survey constitutes the first description of C. lingua metacercariae in the English Channel ecosystems.