Morphological and Molecular Identification of Mullet Helminth Parasite Fauna from Ganzirri Lagoon (Sicily, Southern Italy).

Mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae) are a euryhaline species widely distributed all over the world, thus representing an excellent study model for host-parasite interactions. From March to June 2022, 150 mullets, belonging to ( = 99), ( = 37), and ( = 14) species, were caught to identify the helminth parasite fauna of the different mullet species present in the Ganzirri Lagoon (Messina, Sicily, Italy). A parasitological evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was carried out with a total worm count technique (TWC) to detect helminth presence. All collected parasites were stored in 70% ethanol until morphological evaluation, and frozen at -80 °C for subsequent molecular analysis, using 28S, ITS-2, 18S primers. The morphological evaluation allowed for the identification Acanthocephalan parasites () from two specimens. Sixty-six samples were positive for adult digenean trematodes (, 49.5 %; , 27%, and , 50%), molecularly identified as . This study represents the first survey of helminthic parasite fauna of mullets from the south of Italy. The presence of sp. in the stomach contents of mullets allowed us to infer the life cycle in the Ganzirri lagoon.