Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778)
Abstract Very little information is reported for parasites of cnidarians, therefore, the present work aimed to investigate parasitic infections in one of the most widespread jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, Rhizostoma pulmo. The goals were to determine prevalence and intensity of parasites in R....
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31693-7 |
| _version_ | 1797850036023853056 |
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| author | Gregorio Motta Monica Caffara Maria Letizia Fioravanti Massimiliano Bottaro Massimo Avian Antonio Terlizzi Perla Tedesco |
| author_facet | Gregorio Motta Monica Caffara Maria Letizia Fioravanti Massimiliano Bottaro Massimo Avian Antonio Terlizzi Perla Tedesco |
| author_sort | Gregorio Motta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Very little information is reported for parasites of cnidarians, therefore, the present work aimed to investigate parasitic infections in one of the most widespread jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, Rhizostoma pulmo. The goals were to determine prevalence and intensity of parasites in R. pulmo, identify the species involved through morphological and molecular analysis, test whether infection parameters differ in different body parts and in relation to jellyfish size. 58 individuals were collected, 100% of them infected with digenean metacercariae. Intensity varied between 18.7 ± 6.7 per individual in 0–2 cm diameter jellyfish up to 505 ± 50.6 in 14 cm ones. Morphological and molecular analyses suggest that the metacercariae belonged to the family Lepocreadiidae and could be possibly assigned to the genus Clavogalea. Prevalence values of 100% suggest that R. pulmo is an important intermediate host in the life cycle of lepocreadiids in the region. Our findings also support the hypothesis that R. pulmo is an important part in the diet of teleost fish, which are reported as definitive hosts of lepocreadiids, since trophic transmission is necessary for these parasites to complete their life cycles. Parasitological data may therefore be useful to investigate fish-jellyfish predation, integrating traditional methods such as gut contents analysis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:54:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7071dbde49104326afff2c867d4804ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:54:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-7071dbde49104326afff2c867d4804ae2023-04-09T11:16:10ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-04-0113111110.1038/s41598-023-31693-7Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778)Gregorio Motta0Monica Caffara1Maria Letizia Fioravanti2Massimiliano Bottaro3Massimo Avian4Antonio Terlizzi5Perla Tedesco6Department of Life Science, University of TriesteDepartment of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of BolognaDepartment of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of BolognaDepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI), Genoa Marine Centre (GMC), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn-Italian National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and BiotechnologyDepartment of Life Science, University of TriesteDepartment of Life Science, University of TriesteDepartment of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of BolognaAbstract Very little information is reported for parasites of cnidarians, therefore, the present work aimed to investigate parasitic infections in one of the most widespread jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, Rhizostoma pulmo. The goals were to determine prevalence and intensity of parasites in R. pulmo, identify the species involved through morphological and molecular analysis, test whether infection parameters differ in different body parts and in relation to jellyfish size. 58 individuals were collected, 100% of them infected with digenean metacercariae. Intensity varied between 18.7 ± 6.7 per individual in 0–2 cm diameter jellyfish up to 505 ± 50.6 in 14 cm ones. Morphological and molecular analyses suggest that the metacercariae belonged to the family Lepocreadiidae and could be possibly assigned to the genus Clavogalea. Prevalence values of 100% suggest that R. pulmo is an important intermediate host in the life cycle of lepocreadiids in the region. Our findings also support the hypothesis that R. pulmo is an important part in the diet of teleost fish, which are reported as definitive hosts of lepocreadiids, since trophic transmission is necessary for these parasites to complete their life cycles. Parasitological data may therefore be useful to investigate fish-jellyfish predation, integrating traditional methods such as gut contents analysis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31693-7 |
| spellingShingle | Gregorio Motta Monica Caffara Maria Letizia Fioravanti Massimiliano Bottaro Massimo Avian Antonio Terlizzi Perla Tedesco Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) Scientific Reports |
| title | Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) |
| title_full | Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) |
| title_fullStr | Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) |
| title_short | Parasitic infection in the scyphozoan Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) |
| title_sort | parasitic infection in the scyphozoan rhizostoma pulmo macri 1778 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31693-7 |
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