Ultrastructural and Molecular Characterisation of an Heterosporis-Like Microsporidian in Australian Sea Snakes (Hydrophiinae)

Autor: Richard I. Webb, Peter J. O'Donoghue, Mark Flint, Paul C. Mills, Phoebe A. Chapman, Amber Gillett, Richard Ploeg
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Pleistophora
Marine and Aquatic Sciences
lcsh:Medicine
Fresh Water
Pathogenesis
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Animal Cells
Medicine and Health Sciences
Marine Fish
Japanese eel
Elapidae
lcsh:Science
Phylogeny
Fungal Pathogens
Multidisciplinary
Eels
biology
Fishes
Snakes
Phylogenetic Analysis
Anatomy
030108 mycology & parasitology
Medical Microbiology
Osteichthyes
Microsporidia
Vertebrates
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Granulomas
Queensland
Pathogens
Cellular Types
Research Article
Immune Cells
Immunology
Marine Biology
Mycology
Hydrophis
Research and Analysis Methods
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Microscopy
Electron
Transmission
Species Specificity
Hydrophis elegans
Animals
Molecular Biology Techniques
Microbial Pathogens
Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology Assays and Analysis Techniques
lcsh:R
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Reptiles
Cell Biology
biology.organism_classification
030104 developmental biology
Hydrophiinae
Ultrastructure
Earth Sciences
lcsh:Q
Hydrology
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 3, p e0150724 (2016)
PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Four sea snakes (two Hydrophis major, one Hydrophis platurus, one Hydrophis elegans) were found washed ashore on different beaches in the Sunshine Coast region and Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia between 2007-2013. Each snake had multiple granulomas and locally extensive regions of pallor evident in the hypaxial and intercostal musculature along the body. Lesions in two individuals were also associated with vertebral and rib fractures. Histological examination revealed granulomas scattered throughout skeletal muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and fractured bone. These were composed of dense aggregates of microsporidian spores surrounded by a mantle of macrophages. Sequences (ssrRNA) were obtained from lesions in three sea snakes and all revealed 99% similarity with Heterosporis anguillarum from the Japanese eel (Anguillarum japonica). However, ultrastructural characteristics of the organism were not consistent with those of previous descriptions. Electron microscopic examination of skeletal muscle revealed large cysts (not xenomas) bound by walls of fibrillar material (Heterosporis-like sporophorocyst walls were not detected). The cysts contained numerous mature microsporidian spores arranged in small clusters, sometimes apparently within sporophorous vesicles. The microspores were monomorphic, oval and measured 2.5-3.0 μm by 1.6-1.8 μm. They contained isofilar polar filaments with 11 (infrequently 9-12) coils arranged in two ranks. This is the first published report of a microsporidian infection in hydrophiid sea snakes. This discovery shows microsporidia with molecular affinities to Heterosporis anguillarum but ultrastructural characters most consistent with the genus Pleistophora (but no hitherto described species). Further studies are required to determine whether the microsporidian presented here belongs to the genus Heterosporis, or to a polymorphic species group as suggested by the recognition of a robust Pleistophora/Heterosporis clade by molecular studies. The gross and histological pathology associated with these infections are described.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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