Kamchatka Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
J Invertebr Pathol. 2010 Nov;105(3):329-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2010.07.009. Epub 2010 Aug 5.
A disease caused by a parasitic dinoflagellate of the genus Hematodinium was identified in red, Paralithodes camtschaticus, and blue, Paralithodes platypus, king crabs from the north-east region of the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, during annual stock surveys. No carapace color change was observed even in heavily infected crabs, but diseased crabs possessed creamy-yellow hemolymph, which was visible through the arthrodial membranes of the abdomen and appendages. Several stages of the parasite's life history, including trophonts, plasmodia, sporonts and macrodinospores, were observed in tissues of infected king crabs. Numerous parasite cells were observed in the lumina of the myocardium, the gills, the connective tissue of antennal glands and the sinuses of nerve ganglia, eyestalks and gastrointestinal tract of king crabs with gross signs of infection. Based on sequencing of the 18S rDNA, it appears that the Hematodinium sp. found in red and blue king crabs is identical or closely related to Hematodinium sp. isolated from crabs of the genera Chionoecetes and Lithodes. Observed prevalences were 0.33% in sublegal male red king crabs, 0.18% in female red king crabs, 0.34% in sublegal male blue king crabs and 0.31% in female blue king crabs.
在对俄罗斯鄂霍次克海东北部的红帝王蟹（ Paralithodes camtschaticus ）和蓝帝王蟹（ Paralithodes platypus ）进行年度种群调查时，发现一种由寄生甲藻属（ Hematodinium ）的寄生虫引起的疾病。即使是受感染严重的螃蟹，也没有观察到甲壳颜色的变化，但患病螃蟹的血淋巴呈乳黄色，通过腹部和附肢的关节膜可以看到。在受感染的帝王蟹组织中观察到寄生虫生活史的几个阶段，包括滋养体、疟原虫、孢子体和大孢子。在有明显感染迹象的帝王蟹的心肌、鳃、触角腺结缔组织和神经节窦、眼柄和胃肠道的管腔中观察到大量的寄生虫细胞。根据 18S rDNA 的测序结果，在红帝王蟹和蓝帝王蟹中发现的 Hematodinium sp. 似乎与从 Chionoecetes 和 Lithodes 属螃蟹中分离出的 Hematodinium sp. 相同或密切相关。亚成体雄性红帝王蟹的感染率为 0.33%，雌性红帝王蟹的感染率为 0.18%，亚成体雄性蓝帝王蟹的感染率为 0.34%，雌性蓝帝王蟹的感染率为 0.31%。
