Trichodina Species Research Articles

Occurrence of Trichodinid Ciliophorans (Ciliophora: Peritrichida) in the freshwater fishes of the river Churni with description of Trichodina glossogobae sp. nov. in West Bengal, India

Between January 2011 and March 2011 occurrence of trichodinid ciliophorans were studied in the freshwater fishes of the river Churni. The biodiversity survey revealed presence of a new species of the genus Trichodina (Ehrenberg 1830) infesting Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton-Buchanan). Another freshwater fish Labeo bata (Hamilton 1822) were found to be infested with two species of the genus Tripartiella Lom 1959: Tripartiella bulbosa (Davis 1947) Lom 1959 and T. copiosa Lom 1959. Adhesive disc size of the new Trichodina species is small measuring 30.6-46.9 (36.2±3.9) μm in diameter. The centre of the disc is finely granular and transforms into dark when impregnated with silver. The overall prevalence of this species is 15.6% (12/77). Tripartiella bulbosa and T. copiosa are very small sized ciliophorans, measuring 16.7-23.8 (20.6±2.2) μm and 15.2-22.4 (19.7±1.9) μm in diameter, respectively.

The role of ornamental goldfish Carassius auratus in transfer of some viruses and ectoparasites to cultured fish in Egypt: comparative ultra-pathological studies

Goldfish, common carp and Nile tilapia were sampled between September 2002 and May 2003 to investigate lesions induced by viral diseases and ectoparasites. Goldfish exhibited neoplasms, Dermocystidium sp., Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich), Trichodina reticulata, Lernaea cyprinacea and systemic infections. Neoplastic and systemic infections in goldfish were associated with viral infection. Oreochromis niloticus and Cyprinus carpio were mainly infested with several species of Trichodina and monogeneans. The presence of Dermocystidium sp. in carp, and viral particles in the liver and spleen of O. niloticus and C. carpio, was uncommon. Microscopically, intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the hepatic cells and lymphocytic infiltration in other internal organs of the three fish species were seen. Ultrastructural study showed enveloped viral particles in some cells in all fish species. The recorded parasitic infections were associated with degenerative, necrotic, inflammatory and proliferative changes in the skin and underlying muscles. Imported ornamental goldfish may be a source of infection to carp and native tilapia. Histopathology and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the etiology and pathogenesis of infection and the preliminary diagnosis of viral infection, which is not common in Egypt. It is recommended that goldfish be excluded from edible-fish aquaculture ponds. Strict regulations regarding the transfer and quarantine of imported fish should be implemented.

Trichodina modesta Lom, 1970 (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) infestations of an endemic Toothcarp Aphanius danfordii Boulenger, 1890 (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) in Sinop, Turkey

Toothcarp (Aphanius danfordii) were collected from a small stream connected to the Black Sea on the coast of Sinop, Turkey and examined for trichodinids. A total of 156 toothcarp was investigated. Trichodina modesta Lom, 1970 was the only trichodina species recovered. Overall infestation prevalence (%), mean intensity and abundance values were 97.4%, 182.7±22.4 parasites per infested fish, and 178.0±22.0 parasites per examined fish, respectively. Infestation prevalence, mean intensity and abundance values in relation to sampling months, fish size, and sex were also determined and discussed.

Reevaluation of the Phylogenetic Relationship between Mobilid and Sessilid Peritrichs (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) Based on Small Subunit rRNA Genes Sequences

Based on morphological characters, peritrich ciliates (Class Olygohymenophorea, Subclass Peritrichia) have been subdivided into the Orders Sessilida and Mobilida. Molecular phylogenetic studies on peritrichs have been restricted to members of the Order Sessilida. In order to shed more light into the evolutionary relationships within peritrichs, the complete small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) sequences of four mobilid species, Trichodina nobilis, Trichodina heterodentata, Trichodina reticulata, and Trichodinella myakkae were used to construct phylogenetic trees using maximum parsimony, neighbor joining, and Bayesian analyses. Whatever phylogenetic method used, the peritrichs did not constitute a monophyletic group: mobilid and sessilid species did not cluster together. Similarity in morphology but difference in molecular data led us to suggest that the oral structures of peritrichs are the result of evolutionary convergence. In addition, Trichodina reticulata, a Trichodina species with granules in the center of the adhesive disc, branched separately from its congeners, Trichodina nobilis and Trichodina heterodentata, trichodinids without such granules. This indicates that granules in the adhesive disc might be a phylogenetic character of high importance within the Family Trichodinidae.

Progress of co-infections of Trichodina cooperi and T. murmanica parasitising farmed Atlantic cod Gadus morhua juveniles in Iceland

Two year classes of wild cod juveniles, caught for on-rearing in shore-based tanks, were examined for Trichodina spp. infections at regular intervals for 9 mo. The prevalence, density and proportion of each species found was determined. Additionally, biomass, seawater temperature and salinity in the tanks was recorded regularly. Two species were identified: T. cooperi and T. murmanica. Their prevalence, density and proportion varied between sampling times, T. cooperi being the dominant species, more prevalent and in higher density in the beginning. In the following months, T. murmanica gradually increased its prevalence, density and proportion, reaching an almost total dominance in both year classes after 7 mo of rearing. The results indicate that the rearing environment on this farm favoured T. murmanica. Changes in salinity could explain this to some extent; a drop in salinity, due to an inflow of geothermal freshwater to control the temperature during the coldest months, coincided fairly well with an increasing proportion of T. murmanica. Transfer of wild fish into the rearing environment, with a subsequent increase in biomass, resulted in a proliferation of trichodinids. This may have altered the interaction between species and the competition for resources. It is conceivable that a higher host density favours one Trichodina species over the other. Temperature could also play a role. During the first 3 to 4 mo of rearing, the temperature in the tanks followed the temperature of the open sea, which dropped by 3 to 5 degrees C. This study is a part of a larger project on monitoring the progress of various infectious diseases in farmed cod of wild origin.

Trichodinid ciliates (Peritrichia: Trichodinidae) from the Bay of Kiel, with description of Trichodina claviformis sp. n.

Investigations on the epizoic fauna of Gadus morhua (L.), Platichthys flesus (L.) and Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) from the Kiel Fjord and Kiel Bight were carried out from September 1996 to March 1997. Smears from 120 G. morhua and 92 P. flesus caught using fish traps and trammel nets, and of 35 O. mykiss obtained from a local fish farm in the Kiel Fjord revealed the presence of three species of trichodinid ciliates, Trichodina claviformiis sp. n., Trichodina jadranica Haider, 1964 and Trichodina raabei Lom, 1962. The new species can be distinguished from other trichodinids by its large size in combination with the characteristically shaped adhesive disc containing denticles with club-like formed thorns. The thorns are directed anteriorly and not towards the centre of the adhesive disc. As the Kiel Bight and Kiel Fjord are new locality records for T. jadranica and T. raabei, morphological data are provided for both species. Trichodina claviformis is the first record of a peritrichous mobiline ciliate from Atlantic cod of the Baltic Sea. An identification key for 16 Trichodina species occurring on Baltic Sea fishes is provided based on the morphology of the adhesive disc and other well-established features. The occurrence of trichodinid ciliates on G. morhua and P. flesus in the Baltic Sea is discussed, especially considering the biology of the host and a possible host specificity of the species.

Observations on trichodinid ectoparasites (Ciliophora: Peritricha) from the gills of maricultured molluscs in China, with descriptions of three new species of Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1838

During surveys of the trichodinid parasites in mariculture beds off the coast of Shandong Province, China, four species of the genus Trichodina from the gills of marine molluscs were investigated and morphologically studied. Of these, three are described as new: T. ruditapicis n. sp. from Ruditapes philippinarum (Veneridae), T. scapharcae n. sp. from Scapharca subcrenata (Arcidae) and T. mactrae n. sp. from Mactra veneriformis (Mactridae). One little-known species, T. macomarum Raabe & Raabe, 1959, is redescribed from M. veneriformis. Taxonomic and morphometric data for these trichodinids based on wet silver nitrate and protargol-impregnated specimens are presented. For each of the new species, comparisons with closely related species are provided.

Light and scanning electron microscopic studies on Trichodina labrisomi n.sp. from Labrisomas nuchipinnis (Osteichthyes: Labrisomidae) from Mangrove Lake, Bermuda

Trichodina labrisomi n.sp. from the gills of the hairy blenny, Labrisomas nuchipinnis (Quoy and Gaimard), in Mangrove Lake, Bermuda, is described using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Light microscopy reveals that the dimensions and morphology of T. labrisomi are similar to those given for only 13 previously described species of Trichodina (T. acuta Lom, 1961; T. baicalensis Dogiel, 1957; T. cottomephori Stein, 1979; T. dalli Zhukov, 1964; Trichodina domerguei domerguei Lom and Shtein 1966; T. elegans Stein, 1979; T. fultoni Davis, 1947; T. jadranica Haider, 1964; T. jadranica noblei Lom, 1970; T. partidisci Haider, 1964; T. reticulata Hirschmann et Partsch, 1955; T. tenuidens Faure-Fremiet, 1943; and T. tenuiformis Stein, 1979). However, compared with these similar forms, T. labrisomi n.sp. is distinguished by the dimensions of its body and denticulate ring and (or) the appearance of its silver-impregnated adhesive disc and denticles. Features of T. labrisomi examined by SEM include the body shape, pellicle, aboral pellicular pores, border membrane, aboral ciliary complex, and adoral ciliature, which are described and compared with those of other trichodinids studied using SEM. SEM also revealed that bacilli were distributed circumequatorially over the oral surface of T. labrisomi.

A new species of Trichodina (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) from the intestine of the surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus

A new species of Trichodina (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) from the intestine of the surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus. International Journal for Parasitology 20: 785–787. A population of a trichodinid (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) was found in the gut of the surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus collected from Hawaii, South Africa and New Guinea and described as a new species. This is only the second record of a trichodinid from the intestine of a marine fish. In all the fish specimens examined, the micro-fauna normally found in other species of the fish family Acanthuridae was absent and replaced entirely by the trichodinid population.

Some ectoparasitic trichodinids from Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., with a description of Trichodina cooperi n.sp.

Trichodina murmanica Polyanskiy, 1955 (= Trichodina domerguei subsp. saintjohnsi Lom and Laird, 1969) and Trichodina cooperi n.sp. were commonly encountered on skin and fins of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A third species of Trichodina, probably new, was recorded from the skin of one fish. This is believed to be the first report of the genus Trichodina from the body surface of gadoid fish from eastern Canada, and the known geographic range of T. murmanica is extended. Trichodina cooperi n.sp. has an adoral ciliary spiral of 370–380° and is relatively large, the mean diameter of the body is 110 μm, of the adhesive disc (with dark center), 95 μm, and of the denticulate ring, 59 μm. The denticulate ring consists of 24–29 denticles (usually 27), with 7–9 radial pins per denticle. Each denticle has a broad blade, a large central part, and a slightly curved thorn of moderate to broad width, with a central rib when mature. The thorn is approximately twice the length of the blade. The horseshoe-shaped macronucleus has a diameter of 80.0 μm and the micronucleus is in the +y position. Trichodina spp. infected 26% of 39 wild fish 20 to < 60 cm long. Most wild fish yielded less than five ciliates per 24 × 50 mm smear.

Protozoan Parasites of the Cane Toad, Bufo-Marinus, in Australia

A survey of the protozoan parasites of the introduced South American cane toad, Bufo marinus, was conducted between 1983 and 1984 in Queensland. In all, 267 fully grown specimens, 7 juveniles and 115 tadpoles were checked for blood, cloaca, gall bladder and, for the tadpoles only, skin protozoans, and results are compared with records of the toad's protozoans in South America. Results show that Bufo marinus has not retained any of its native blood protozoans, and that it has introduced species of intestinal and gall bladder protozoans: Trichomitus batrachorum; Zelleriella antilliensis; Hyalodaktylethra renacuajo n.g. (=Saccamoeba renacuajo); and, Myxidium immersum. The toad has adopted at least three species of native protoopalinids: Protoopalina australis; P. hylarum; and, P. raffae. The intestinal flagellates Chilomastix caulleryi, Retortamonas dobelli, Giardia agilis, Spiro- nucleus elegans, and Monocercomonas batrachorum are all new records for B. marinus. Undetermined species of Nyctotheroides were observed in the cloaca. A species of Trichodina is reported for the first time on the skin of the toad's tadpoles.

Parasitic protozoa from marine and euryhaline fish of Newfoundland and New Brunswick. I. Peritrichous ciliates

Trichodina elizabethae n. sp. (which is commonly hyperparasitized by the suctorian Endosphaera engelmanni Entz), T. galyae n. sp., and T. domerguei (Wallengren) saintjohnsi n. subsp. are described from Newfoundland waters; the first two from the radiated shanny and lumpfish respectively, and the last from the mailed sculpin, lumpfish, and shorthorn sculpin. T. jarmilae n. sp. parasitizes the sea raven in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. In both provinces, T. cottidarum Dogiel, sensu lato, occurs on shorthorn and longhorn sculpins. Two species of fish from brackish pools (the threespine stickleback in both areas; the mummichog in the Bay of Fundy) are often heavily parasitized by T. tenuidens Fauré-Fremiet. All the ciliates referred to were collected from the gills of their hosts, only two of which bore peritrichs other than trichodinids. One of these, Caliperia brevipes Laird, is found on the little skate in the Bay of Fundy and has been described elsewhere. The other, Scyphidia arctica Zhukov, is now reported from the longhorn sculpin in Newfoundland. Only five (16%) of 31 species of marine fish from Newfoundland bore trichodinids, as compared with nine (35%) of 26 from New Brunswick. However, four of the latter group had extremely light or sporadic infestations. Three of the rest, showing high incidence and heavy to extremely heavy infestations, were sculpins (Cottidae), as were three of the five Newfoundland hosts. Thus, while information is accumulating to suggest that marine fish trichodinids find optimum environmental conditions where mean seawater temperatures are not extreme (neither very warm nor very cold), certain fish are evidently more prone to infestation than others. This may well be due to varying ecological vulnerability to parasitization rather than to the operation of host specificity, an important question which, like that of environmental tolerances, merits early experimental attention. The paper includes a list of 61 species of Trichodina and the closely related Tripartiella and Trichodinella now known from marine and euryhaline fish, their validity being assessed on the basis of technique and the taxonomic criteria used.

Trichodina (Ciliata: Urceolariidae) of freshwater fishes of the Southeastern United States.

SYNOPSIS. Eight new species of Trichodina are described from freshwater fishes of the Southeastern U.S.: T. davisi from Roccus saxatilus (Walbaum), T. funduli from Fundulus notti (Agassiz), T. globosa from Etheostoma radiosum (Hubbs and Black), T. hoffmani from Etheostoma edwini (Hubbs and Cannon), T. hypsilepis from Notropis hypsilepis Suttkus and Raney, T. microdenticula from Dorosoma petenense (Gunther). T. noturi from Noturus leptacanthus Jordan, and T. salmincola from Salmo gairdneri Richardson. Nine species of Trichodina are redescribed: T. californica, T. discoidea, T. fultoni, T. pediculus, T. platyformis, T. reticulata, T. sp. (?T. nigra), T. tumefaciens, and T. vallata. The name T. pediculus is re‐erected for the form that occurs on largemouth bass.Host fish were collected from 36 geographic locations in 10 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). A total of 939 fish of 46 species was examined for trichodinid parasites.Two methods of impregnating formalin preserved specimens of Trichodina with silver are discussed.A key to the species of Trichodina reported from North American freshwater fishes is given.

Geographic Distribution of Some Species of Trichodinids (Ciliata:Peritricha) Parasitic on Fishes

North American Trichodina from Carassius auratus, Lepomis cyanellus, L. macrochirus, Micropterus salmoides, and Rhinichthys atratulus have been studied by the silver-impregnation method and compared with European species. T. reticulata Hirschmann and Partsch, 1955, and T. (Foliella) subtilis Lorn, 1959, originally described from European goldfish, are herein recorded from North America also. T. fultoni Davis, 1947, from Lepomis cyanellus, Micropterus salmoides, and Rhinichthys atratulus is redescribed, and T. domerguei f. magna Lorn, 1961, described from European tench and gudgeon, is considered a synonym. A Trichodina sp. from the gills of Lepomis macrochirus is described; it is almost identical with T. nigra Lom, 1961 from European Rutilus, T. discoidea from centrarchids, and T. tumefaciens from Cottus of North America. Other North American trichodinids are reviewed briefly. Up to the present time, more than 90 species of Trichodina have been described from the gills and skin of marine and freshwater fishes. Many of them have been considered as new only because they were found in a different host and remote geographic area. The descriptions in many cases were inadequate since the uniform body structure of these ciliates yields few characters for solid differentiation of species. However, the recently employed Klein's silver-impregnation technique (Lorn, 1958; Raabe, 1959) clearly reveals details of the adhesive disc which are important features of urceolariid taxonomy. This, together with careful biometrical and other morphological information, represents a good base for taxonomic studies of this group. It is beyond the scope of this communication to present all the problems of trichodinid taxonomy; they can be found in Uzmann and Stickney (1954), Raabe (1959), and Lorn (1958, 1961, 1962). Though insufficient description of some species does not permit us to identify them again, reexamination of a number of species which have been accurately characterized by older methods is possible. This is a study on the geographic distribution of some fish trichodinids, based on a comparison of four species Received for publication 9 April 1963. 30 from some North American fishes from Pennsylvania and West Virginia with material from Cz choslovakia. Trichodina reticulata Hirschmann and

Trichodinid ciliates from fishes of the Rumanian Black Sea coast

Representatives of a total of twenty fish species, most of them marine, from the Black Sea coast in Rumania were investigated. Of these, ten species were found to harbour ectoparasitic trichodinids on their skin and gills. Three of them, Trichodina rectuncinata Raabe, 1959, from Gaidropsis mediterranaeus and Crenilabrus griseus, T. caspialosae (Dogiel, 1940) mihi from Alosa braschnikowi meotica and T. d. f. latispina from Gasterosteus aculeatus, were already known.Three species could be established as new ones: T. puytoraci sp.nov. from Mugil auratus, M. cephalus and M. saliens, T. raabei sp.nov. from Pleuronectes flesus and T. lepsii sp.nov. from M. auratus. They are clearly differentiated from other species.The following trichodinids were provisionally classified as forms (including one new one) of T. domerguei, thus enlarging this most complicated Trichodina species: T. domerguei, cf. latispina from Gobius syrman, T. domerguei f.n. maris-negri from Gaidropsis mediterranaeus, and T. domerguei f. partidisci from Mugil cephalus. Other populations of T. domerguei could not be properly classified because of lack of material.The description of the new species of Tripartiella which have been mentioned in the introduction, will be given in a separate paper.A short survey on marine trichodinids recorded up to the present is given.

A Contribution to the Systematics and Morphology of Endoparasitic Trichodinids from Amphibians, with a Proposal of Uniform Specific Characteristics

SYNOPSIS. Trichodina urinicola was found in newts, Triturus cristatus and T. taeniatus, in three localities in Czechoslovakia. The ciliate populations showed important differences on the basis of which they were separated as three new forms of this species: T. urinicola f. typica, T. urinicola f. bohemica, both from Triturus cristatus, and T. urinicola f. taeniatus from Triturus taeniatus. The great variability of trichodinids is evident from the literature as well as from our own observations, so that these new forms are to be regarded as provisional ones until it is possible to decide on the basis of a large number of observations the extent of specificity and variation of individual endozoic species of Trichodina. A detailed description of these forms is given as well as a comparison with the known species of trichodinids inhabiting the urinary tract of amphibians. A brief comment on the present taxonomy of the Urceolaridae in general is outlined.The need for a uniform description of these ciliates is emphasized; in connection with this, the taxonomic value of individual body characters is discussed. Special attention is paid to the adhesive disk of Trichodina, the structure of which is of greatest importance in the taxonomy of this group. On the basis of Dogel's and Fauré‐Fremiet's descriptive methods employed in study of trichodinids, a proposal of a uniform description of Trichodina is made which involves all the important features of these protozoa.

Trichodina dohrni n. sp., a new ciliate species pathogenic for fish from the Gulf of Naples

A new species of the genus Trichodina, T. dohrni, is described from the gills of a Bathygobius capitoCuv. et Val. from the Gulf of Naples. The new species is characterized by the absence of the inner aboral cilia, the height of the adoral cilia which never is situated higher than the midst of the body. Differences concerning the measures of the denticles are given in a table. The pathogenicity of the parasite is of a high degree, for the gills were covered wich a greyish layer of hundreds of parasites, the respiratory tissues were swollen at many spots.

A New Species of Trichodina (Ciliata) from the Urinary Tract of the Muskalonge, with a Repartition of the Genus

In 1932 the author described Trichodila renicola from the urinary tract of the pickerel, Esox iiger, in Oneida Lake. This was the first record of a Trichodina from the urinary bladder of a fish. On numerous subsequent occasions the urinary tract of Esox lucius from various localities was examined for related ciliates, but with negative results. An added interest therefore attaches to the discovery of a similar parasite in the urinary passages of the muskalonge, Esox masquinongy, of Chautauqua Lake, N. Y. This parasite was present in all adult muskalonge examined.

Some Species of Trichodina (Ciliata) from Fresh Water Fishes

Some Species of Trichodina (Ciliata) from Fresh Water Fishes

Binary fission and endomixis in the Trichodina from tadpoles (Protozoa, Ciliata)

AbstractThis peritrichous ciliate lives as an ectocommensal on the skin and gills of anuran tadpoles. Its relation to described species of Trichodina is doubtful. This study was made almost exclusively on fixed and stained material. Binary fission is similar to that in other ciliates. The horseshoe‐shaped macronucleus condenses, then divides amitotically. The single small micronucleus forms a spindle containing between four and six chromosomes.Endomixis is of high incidence in the free‐living Trichodinae. Encystment was not observed. At the onset of endomixis, the macronucleus disintegrates into fragments which persist throughout the process. The micronucleus undergoes three rapidly succeeding mitotic divisions to form eight nuclei. There is no evidence of chromosome reduction during these divisions. Seven of the nuclei differentiate into macronuclear anlagen; the eighth becomes the functional micronucleus. Successive cell divisions—before each of which the micronucleus divides—distribute macronuclei to daughter cells. Variations from the regular process of endomixis may arise, 1) by precocious division of endomictic parents; 2) by extra divisions of the micronucleus; 3) by less than the usual number (three) of divisions of the micronucleus; 4) by hypertrophy and early differentiation of the micronucleus into macronuclei; 5) by unusual segregation of nuclei to daughters, and, 6) from miscellaneous causes.The significance of these variations is discussed in connection with the possible origin of bimicronucleate and amicronucleate races.