Morphological and molecular diversity of Characidotrema (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasitizing African tetras (Characiformes: Alestidae)
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | African tetras are known to be parasitized by monogeneans representing three genera: Afrocleidodiscus (1 species), Annulotrema (39 spp.) and Characidotrema (10 spp.). To date, Characidotrema were found on the gills of four alestid genera (Alestes, Brycinus, Phenacogrammus, and Hemigrammopetersius) from seven African countries: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. The main objectives of the present study are to investigate: (1) species diversity of Characidotrema species from alestids from four other African countries; (2) interspecific genetic variability in Characidotrema spp.; (3) the relationships between Characidotrema spp. and other representatives of Dactylogyridae parasitizing African freshwater fishes based on nuclear gene sequences. Characidotrema species were collected from Brycinus imberi, B. leuciscus and B. nurse during field trips in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Parasites were investigated using two complementary approaches: a morphological study of the hard sclerotized structures (haptor, male copulatory organ and vagina) and a molecular one, using ribosomal DNA sequence data (LSU and SSU). This study revealed the presence of four known species: Ch. brevipenis, Ch. nursei, Ch. spinivaginus, Ch. zelotes and three species probably new to science. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses confirmed the monophyly of Characidotrema and its close relationships with representatives of Annulotrema. Close position within some Characidotrema species corresponds with the morphology of sclerotized structures of male copulatory organ and vagina. |
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