Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i>
There is a paucity of knowledge regarding the diversity and impact(s) of disease-causing fungi in marine animals, especially shellfish. In efforts to address this knowledge gap for the shore crab <i>Carcinus maenas</i>, a year-long disease screen was carried out across two sites in Swans...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/462 |
| _version_ | 1827715190005694464 |
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| author | Charlotte E. Davies Sophie H. Malkin Jessica E. Thomas Frederico M. Batista Andrew F. Rowley Christopher J. Coates |
| author_facet | Charlotte E. Davies Sophie H. Malkin Jessica E. Thomas Frederico M. Batista Andrew F. Rowley Christopher J. Coates |
| author_sort | Charlotte E. Davies |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a paucity of knowledge regarding the diversity and impact(s) of disease-causing fungi in marine animals, especially shellfish. In efforts to address this knowledge gap for the shore crab <i>Carcinus maenas</i>, a year-long disease screen was carried out across two sites in Swansea Bay (Wales, UK) with a view to characterising putative fungal infections. Crabs were sampled between November 2017 and October 2018, and screened systematically for disease signatures using haemolymph (blood) preparations, targeted PCR and tissue histopathology. Strikingly, mycosis was confirmed in ~0.4% of total crabs tested (<i>n</i> = 1191) and restricted to one location only (Mumbles Pier). Clinical infections were observed in four out of four infected crabs. In these animals, the gills and hepatopancreas were congested with fungal morphotypes. In addition, some evidence indicates haemocyte (immune cell) reactivity toward the fungi. Phylogenetic placement of the partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) gene regions amplified from three mycotic crabs revealed the causative agent to be related to hypocrealean fungi, thereby representing a novel species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:13:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51dc3220e7ad406f8a4c171363553484 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:13:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-51dc3220e7ad406f8a4c1713635534842023-11-20T03:32:42ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172020-06-019646210.3390/pathogens9060462Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i>Charlotte E. Davies0Sophie H. Malkin1Jessica E. Thomas2Frederico M. Batista3Andrew F. Rowley4Christopher J. Coates5Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKDepartment of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKDepartment of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKDepartment of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKDepartment of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKDepartment of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UKThere is a paucity of knowledge regarding the diversity and impact(s) of disease-causing fungi in marine animals, especially shellfish. In efforts to address this knowledge gap for the shore crab <i>Carcinus maenas</i>, a year-long disease screen was carried out across two sites in Swansea Bay (Wales, UK) with a view to characterising putative fungal infections. Crabs were sampled between November 2017 and October 2018, and screened systematically for disease signatures using haemolymph (blood) preparations, targeted PCR and tissue histopathology. Strikingly, mycosis was confirmed in ~0.4% of total crabs tested (<i>n</i> = 1191) and restricted to one location only (Mumbles Pier). Clinical infections were observed in four out of four infected crabs. In these animals, the gills and hepatopancreas were congested with fungal morphotypes. In addition, some evidence indicates haemocyte (immune cell) reactivity toward the fungi. Phylogenetic placement of the partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) gene regions amplified from three mycotic crabs revealed the causative agent to be related to hypocrealean fungi, thereby representing a novel species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/462marine fungiphylogenyhistopathologyparasitedisease connectivityfisheries |
| spellingShingle | Charlotte E. Davies Sophie H. Malkin Jessica E. Thomas Frederico M. Batista Andrew F. Rowley Christopher J. Coates Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> Pathogens marine fungi phylogeny histopathology parasite disease connectivity fisheries |
| title | Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> |
| title_full | Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> |
| title_fullStr | Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> |
| title_short | Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, <i>Carcinus maenas</i> |
| title_sort | mycosis is a disease state encountered rarely in shore crabs i carcinus maenas i |
| topic | marine fungi phylogeny histopathology parasite disease connectivity fisheries |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/462 |
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