Esophageal Infection Due to Kudoa Sp. (Myxozoa) in Mapara Catﬁsh

Aquaculture Reports 2 (2015) 22–25

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Aquaculture Reports

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Esophageal infection due to Kudoa sp. (Myxozoa) in mapara catﬁsh,

Hypophthalmus marginatus

a b a c

Michele Velasco , Marcela Videira , José Mauro Viana da Silva , Osimar Sanches ,

d e a,∗

Patrícia Santos Matos , Sérgio Carmona de São Clemente , Edilson Matos

Carlos Azevedo Research Laboratory, Federal Rural University of Amazonia (UFRA), Belém, Pará, Brazil

Morphophysiology and Animal Health Laboratory, Amapá State University (UEAP), Macapá, Amapá, Brazil

MV. Pathologist – Veterinary Diagnostic Center – CDAPVET, Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brazil

Edilson Matos Research Laboratory, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil

Faculty of Veterinary, Federal Fluminense University (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present study describes lesions caused by Kudoa sp. in the esophageal tissue of mapará catﬁshes

Received 26 November 2014

(Hypophthalmus marginatus) collected from Cametá, Tocantins River in the northern Brazil. Fifty refriger-

Received in revised form 23 April 2015

ated H. marginatus specimens were dissected and tissue samples were for embedded in parafﬁn and

Accepted 1 May 2015

stained with hematoxylin-eosi, Masson’s trichrome and Giemsa. Pseudocysts of whitish color were

observed in the esophagus region. The parasites had four valves and other morphological characteristics

Keywords:

of the genus Kudoa. Microscopic analysis revealed lesions in the mucosa, submucosa, and muscular layers.

Amazonia

The Masson staining highlighted the presence of myxosporean cysts in the cytoplasm of the muscular

Esophagus

Disease fibers, and marked fibrosis of the muscular and mucous layers. The macro and microscopic findings of

Mapará the present study conﬁrm the presence of necrotic esophagitis in H. marginatus associated with infection

Myxozoan by Kudoa.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction As result of the herbivorous habit, high ﬁlet yield, good meat

taste and nutritional standards (Costa et al., 2010), associated to

The Amazon has the greatest diversity of freshwater ﬁsh in the great commercial importance, H. marginatus has been studied

the world (Santos and Santos, 2005). However, there is a lack for farming. Recently, the species was included in lists of ﬁsh with

of knowledge on the ichthyofauna inhabiting the various aquatic potential for aquaculture, divulged by govern agencies and private

environments available (Soares et al., 2008). The high diversity of companies. (Brasil, 2015). In this context, know the parasites ﬁnd in

habitats creates conditions for evolving many ﬁsh species with natural populations is important to prevent potential infestations

different characteristics. Some of them have great potential for in culture conditions.

aquaculture and high value on the international market, such as The importance of ichthyoparasites has increased in the past

the mapará catﬁsh Hypophthalmus marginatus Valenciennes, 1840. years because of their implications for human health and economic

It is a peculiar siluriform, which is pelagic and phytoplanktopha- activities. Parasitological studies on H. marginatus are rare in the

gus. Mapara is largely exploited by ﬁsheries (Worthmann, 1980) literature. The myxosporidiosis in this species is more important.

and most of the catch is exported abroad or to other regions in Recently, Rocha et al. (2014) described a new species of myx-

Brazil (Cutrim and Batista, 2005). osporean, Thelohanellus marginatus, infecting gills of mapara. A

number of myxosporean species, especially those of the genus

Kudoa Meglitsch, 1947, are of considerable importance due to their

∗ effects on the quality of ﬁshery products, in particular due to post-

Corresponding author at: Laboratório de Pesquisa Carlos Azevedo, Universidade

◦ mortem myoliquefaction of the muscle tissue, which is rendered

Federal Rural da Amazônia, Avenida Presidente Tancredo Neves, N 2501 Bairro,

Montese, Cidade, Belém, Pará Cep: 66.077-901, Brazil. Tel.: +55 913210 5207. unacceptable for human consumption (Morado and Sparks, 1986;

E-mail addresses: michele [email protected] (M. Velasco), Stehr and Whitaker, 1986; Moran et al., 1999a). The genus Myxobo-

[email protected] (M. Videira), [email protected]

lus are also described as a causative of myoliquefaction of in ﬁsh.

(J.M. Viana da Silva), [email protected] (O. Sanches), [email protected]

In south Brazil, Eiras et al. (2005) have reported myoliquefac-

(P. Santos Matos), [email protected] (S. Carmona de São Clemente),

tion in the ﬂounder Paralichthys orbignyanus due to infection by [email protected] (E. Matos).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2015.05.001

M. Velasco et al. / Aquaculture Reports 2 (2015) 22–25 23

Fig. 1. Hypophthalmus marginatus. (A) Macroscopic view of the whitish cysts in the esophagus region (*). (B) Optical photomicrographs by means of differential interference

contrast (DIC; Nomarski) showing in natura Kudoa spores in apical view (Ep). Scale bar 10 ␮m.

Fig. 2. Hypophthalmus marginatus. (C) Transverse section of the esophagus region, showing edema in the submucosa (arrowheads) and necrosis of the muscle area (arrow). HxE.

Scale bar 100 ␮m. (D) Mucosa of the esophagus region inﬁltrated by lymphocytes (arrow). HxE. Scale bar 100 ␮m. (E) Transverse section of the esophagus region, showing

pseudocysts of Kudoa in the muscle layer (Ci) and presence of a large quantity of free spores in the mucosa region (arrow). Giemsa. Scale bar. 100 ␮m. (F) Observation

intracitoplasmatic pseudocysts Kudoa sp. (arrows), and necrosis of the muscle ﬁbers (arrowheads). T. Masson. Scale bar. 100 ␮m. (G) Fibrosis in the mucosa and submucosa

(arrows) and intense inﬁltration of lymphocytes (arrowheads). Masson T. Scale bar 100 ␮m. (H) Muscle layer of the esophagus, showing ﬁbrosis surrounding the muscle

ﬁbers (arrows) and cysts containing Kudoa spores (arrowheads). Masson T. Scale bar 100 ␮m.

24 M. Velasco et al. / Aquaculture Reports 2 (2015) 22–25

Myxobolus sp. This muscle lysis result from action by proteases and lumen of the esophagus, with observation of ﬁbrosis in these

produced parasites, resulting in myoliquefaction in the tissue of regions. Moran et al. (1999a) observed that when spores were

their host. (Moran et al., 1999b). The present study describes released from pseudocysts through bursting, they generated an

macroscopic and microscopic lesions caused by Kudoa cysts in the inﬂammatory reaction with phagocyte involvement. Other stud-

esophageal region of the mapará catﬁsh H. marginatus in the Ama- ies, such as those by Andrada et al. (2005) on Trichiurus lepturus,

zon basin, northern Brazil. Heckmann and Jensen (1978) on Sebastes paucispinis and Casal

et al. (2008) on Aequidens plagiozonatus, described infections due to

Kudoa with little or no inﬂammatory reaction. According to those

2. Material and methods

ﬁndings, infection of the esophageal musculature of H. margina-

tus by Kudoa sp. caused damage to the host ﬁsh, culminating in

Fifty specimens of the mapara H. marginatus, of 30 cm length

inﬂammatory process and of ﬁbrosis in the muscle layer, due to

(28–34 cm) and 75 g weight (72–78 g), were acquired dead from

◦ ◦ intense infection of the muscle ﬁber, and in the submucosa layers

artisan ﬁshermen near the town of Cametá (2 14 S, 49 29 W), in

and mucosa of the esophagus, due to bursting of the pseudocysts

the northern Brazil state of Pará, between July 2011 and May 2012.

with spore releasing.

The specimens were transported in refrigerated containers to the

In aquaculture, the ﬁsh are subject to infection by numerous

Carlos Azevedo Research Laboratory at the Federal Rural University

species of parasites, due to various stress factors provided by the

of Amazonia, in Belém. The ﬁsh were necropsied and the esophageal

management (Tavares-Dias et al., 2001). Then, the results obtained

portion of the gastrointestinal tract was observed under a stereomi-

in this work are fundamental to characterize the parasitological

croscope appropriate for parasitological studies.

proﬁle of the H. marginatus. It may subsidize research to standardize

For fresh examination, small tissue fragments with suspected

methods of control and prevention, and avoid spread diseases in

parasitism were placed between slides and coverslips with a drop

animals in aquaculture.

of water, for observation under an optical microscope and a dif-

ferential interference contrast (DIC) microscope (Nomarski). For

the histological procedure, small fragments (0.5 cm) of the par- Acknowledgements

asitized tissue extracted from the esophageal region of the ﬁsh

specimens were fixed in Davidson’s solution (neutral-buffered for- We are grateful to Coordenaç ão de Aperfeiç oamento de Pessoal

malin, glacial acetic acid, 95% ethanol and distilled water) for 24 h de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento

and processed for setting in paraffin and stained with Masson’s Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundaç ão Amazônia Paraense de

trichrome, hematoxylin-eosin and Giemsa (Luna, 1968). The sec- Amparo à Pesquisa (FAPESPA) and The Edilson Matos Research Lab-

tions were stained and mounted on slides with a coverslip and oratory (LPEM–UFPA) and to Mr. David Elliff for idiom revision

analyzed in a Nikon E-200 light microscope equipped with the of the manuscript. The helpful suggestions and comments of the

Micrometrics SE Premium image-capturing software. Associate Editor and reviewers are greatly appreciated.

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