Real-time PCR detection of Parvicapsula pseudobranchicola (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) in wild salmonids in Norway

The myxozoan genus Parvicapsula contains 14 species infecting fish, some of which are known to cause severe disease in farmed and wild salmonids. Parvicapsula pseudobranchicola infections were first reported from seawater‐reared Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in Norway in 2002 and have since then bee...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish diseases 2011-05, Vol.34 (5), p.365-371
Main Authors: Jørgensen, A, Nylund, A, Nikolaisen, V, Alexandersen, S, Karlsbakk, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arctic char
Atlantic salmon
Fish Diseases - diagnosis
Fish Diseases - epidemiology
Fisheries
Fishes
Myxozoa
Myxozoa - isolation & purification
Norway
Parasitic Diseases, Animal - diagnosis
Parasitic Diseases, Animal - epidemiology
Parvicapsula
Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods
Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary
real-time PCR
Salmonidae - parasitology
sea trout
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sequence Analysis, DNA - veterinary
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The myxozoan genus Parvicapsula contains 14 species infecting fish, some of which are known to cause severe disease in farmed and wild salmonids. Parvicapsula pseudobranchicola infections were first reported from seawater‐reared Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in Norway in 2002 and have since then been an increasing problem. The present study describes a Taqman real‐time PCR assay for specific detection of P. pseudobranchicola. The Taqman assay targets the 18S rRNA gene of P. pseudobranchicola and is able to detect as few as ten copies of the target sequence. Using the described assay, P. pseudobranchicola was detected in both farmed and wild salmonids, indicating that wild Atlantic salmon, sea trout, Salmo trutta, and Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, may be natural hosts of the parasite. Parvicapsula pseudobranchicola was found in samples from wild salmonids in the far south and the far north of Norway, displaying a wide geographic range of the parasite. Farmed salmonids showed P. pseudobranchicola infection levels many folds higher than that observed for wild sea trout, indicating that farmed Atlantic salmon are subjected to an elevated infection pressure compared with wild salmonids.
ISSN:0140-7775
1365-2761
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2761.2011.01248.x