Tedesco Perla, Gestal Camino, Begić Kristina, Mladineo Ivona, Castellanos-Martínez Sheila, Catanese Gaetano, Terlizzi Antonio, Fiorito Graziano
Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, CoNISMa, Lecce, Italy.
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (CSIC), Vigo, Spain.
Protist. 2017 Nov;168(5):636-648. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2017.08.002. Epub 2017 Sep 11.
Coccidian parasites of the genus Aggregata are known to parasitize cephalopods as definitive hosts, however one of the genus members, A. octopiana, has shown an unresolved phylogeny within the same definitive host, the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). Our study represents a large-scale investigation aimed at characterizing morphological traits and phylogeny of A. octopiana isolated from O. vulgaris inhabiting three distinct geographic areas of the central Mediterranean: The Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. The morphology of sporogonic stages of the parasite in octopus tissues was assessed by light and electron microscopy; molecular characterization has been carried out using the 18S rRNA locus. Our results support the hypothesis that two morphologically and genetically different A. octopiana infect O. vulgaris in the investigated areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Additional nuclear and mitochondrial markers for Aggregata should provide further information and better resolution of its phylogeny.
已知艾美球虫属（Aggregata）的球虫寄生虫将头足类动物作为终末宿主，然而该属的一个成员，即八腕艾美球虫（A. octopiana），在同一终末宿主——普通章鱼（Octopus vulgaris）体内的系统发育关系尚未明确。我们的研究是一项大规模调查，旨在描述从栖息于地中海中部三个不同地理区域（亚得里亚海、爱奥尼亚海和第勒尼安海）的普通章鱼中分离出的八腕艾美球虫的形态特征和系统发育。通过光学显微镜和电子显微镜评估了寄生虫在章鱼组织中孢子生殖阶段的形态；利用18S rRNA基因座进行了分子特征分析。我们的结果支持这样的假设，即两种形态和基因不同的八腕艾美球虫感染了地中海调查区域内的普通章鱼。艾美球虫属的其他核标记和线粒体标记应能提供更多信息，并更好地解析其系统发育。
