Species diversity and phylogeny genus Dactylogyrus (Monogenea) in the Middle East
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The Middle East is one of the most underexplored regions regarding the diversity of Dactylogyrus monogeneans parasitizing cyprinoid fish. Although there were different monogenean species described from the cyprinoids of this region, molecular data are not available for the fish parasites. The Middle East is an important crossroad region for Asian, European and North African fauna. We aimed to study the diversity and phylogenetic relationships of host-specific Dactylogyrus hypothesizing that host-specific monogeneans contribute to the knowledge of their hosts' historical dispersion. Field collection was conducted from 2018 to 2020 in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. During field collection 224 cyprinoid specimens were processed, and all Dactylogyrus were collected for further morphological and molecular analyses. Twenty-two Dactylogyrus species from 26 host species were identified. For assessing phylogenetic relationships of Dactylogyrus species, partial regions of 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and compete ITS1 region were amplified. The phylogenetic reconstruction revealed 5 different lineages of the Dactylogyrus species in the Middle East. Both morphological and molecular phylogeny revealed 3 potentially new species for science. Furthermore, the unexpected intraspecific genetic variability was found within D. linstowi and D. dyki. Surprisingly, D. anchoratus was observed on Capoeta aydinensis, an endemic freshwater fish in Turkey, suggesting possible host switching from the introduced Carassius gibelio (the main host of D. anchoratus). The position of endemic Middle East Dactylogyrus species within the phylogeny of Dactylogyrus including also European and North African species shed new light on the historical dispersion of these host-specific parasites in cyprinoids from the Middle East. |
| Related projects: |