The LIFE+ CLAW project has the aim to protect the endangered freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes complex in North-western Italy. To assess the health status of the populations located in the project area, we evaluated the distribution of microsporidiosis, a chronic parasitic infection also known as porcelain disease, monitoring 38 sampling sites in Liguria and Emilia Romagna Regions between 2020 and 2021. We collected all crayfish with visible whitening of the abdominal muscle tissue, the typical macroscopic sign of microsporidiosis, to confirm the suspected infection and to identify the parasite species through histological examination and PCR targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, followed by Sanger sequencing. We confirmed the presence of microsporidia in 14 sampling sites and we identified the species Thelohania contejeani in all of them. We also detected Vairimorpha austropotamobii, another microsporidian species already observed in Northern Italy; in the project area, we observed this pathogen only in one sampling site and only in one specimen, in co-infection with T. contejeani.
DISTRIBUTION OF MICROSPORIDIAN PARASITES IN WHITECLAWED CRAYFISH OF THE NORTH-WESTERN APENNINES (DISTRIBUZIONE DI PARASSITI MICROSPORIDI IN GAMBERI DI FIUME AUTOCTONI NEGLI APPENNINI NORD-OCCIDENTALI)
FEA GIANLUCA;GHIA DANIELA;
2022-01-01
Abstract
The LIFE+ CLAW project has the aim to protect the endangered freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes complex in North-western Italy. To assess the health status of the populations located in the project area, we evaluated the distribution of microsporidiosis, a chronic parasitic infection also known as porcelain disease, monitoring 38 sampling sites in Liguria and Emilia Romagna Regions between 2020 and 2021. We collected all crayfish with visible whitening of the abdominal muscle tissue, the typical macroscopic sign of microsporidiosis, to confirm the suspected infection and to identify the parasite species through histological examination and PCR targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, followed by Sanger sequencing. We confirmed the presence of microsporidia in 14 sampling sites and we identified the species Thelohania contejeani in all of them. We also detected Vairimorpha austropotamobii, another microsporidian species already observed in Northern Italy; in the project area, we observed this pathogen only in one sampling site and only in one specimen, in co-infection with T. contejeani.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
