C. Szekely et al., DEVELOPMENT OF THELOHANELLUS-HOVORKAI AND THELOHANELLUS-NIKOLSKII (MYXOSPOREA, MYXOZOA) IN OLIGOCHAETE ALTERNATE HOSTS, Gyobyo kenkyu, 33(3), 1998, pp. 107-114
The development of Thelohanellus hovorkai, a myxosporean parasite of t
he connective tissues, and Thelohanellus nikolskii, a fin and scale pa
rasite of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was studied in experimentally
infected oligochaetes Branchiura sowerbyi and Tubifex tubifex, respect
ively. After infection with mature spores of T. hovorkai, the developm
ent of actinosporean stages was first observed light microscopically i
n the gut of Branchiura sowerbyi 93 days after infection. Free actinos
pores of T. hovorkai were found in the lumen of the oligochaete's gut
101 days after infection. They were floating in water and showed a typ
ical aurantiactinomyxon form. At 18-22 degrees C, aurantiactinomyxon s
pores of T. hovorkai emerged from the worms 104 days after infection.
The development of T. nikolskii was examined in Tubifex tubifex, from
which aurantiactinomyxon spores were released 60 days after infection
at 22-24 degrees C. The diameter of spore body was 18.6 mu m and the l
enght of caudal processes 29 mu m for T. hovorkai, while 21.1 mu m and
13.4 mu m for T. nikolskii, respectively. The prevalence of aurantiac
tinomyxon infection in B. sowerbyi for T. hovorkai proved to be 16.7%,
while in T. tubifex for T. nikolskii it was 12.5%.