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Title: | <em>Hematodinium perezi</em> (Dinophyceae: Syndiniales) in Morocco: First Record on the African Atlantic Coast, and First Country Record of a Parasite of the Invasive Blue Crab <em>Callinectes sapidus</em> | Authors: | LAMKHALKHAL, Amal Rahmouni, Imane Selfati, Mohamed Hamid, Aicha KMENTOVA, Nikol VANHOVE, Maarten Bazairi, Hocein |
Issue Date: | 2024 | Abstract: | Dinoflagellates belonging to Hematodinium are important parasites of marine crustaceans, primarily decapods. In this study, we document the first report of H. perezi Chatton & Poisson, 1930 on the African Atlantic coast. This is also the first parasite record in the invasive American blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 in Morocco. Specimens of C. sapidus were sampled in winter 2023 from two Ramsar sites on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, namely Merja Zerga and Oualidia Lagoons, and were screened to detect the presence of parasites in their hemolymph. Based on staining fresh hemolymph smears, we did not detect Hematodinium in any of the 36 investigated individuals (20 and 16 from Merja Zerga and Oualidia lagoons, respectively), probably due to methodological artifacts. The PCR-based method was revealed to be more accurate in diagnosing the Hematodinium parasite. It showed that 13 blue crabs were infected by the parasite at Merja Zerga Lagoon (prevalence 65%) and four individuals at Oualidia Lagoon (25%). Genetic analysis, based on the ITS1 rDNA gene from Hematodinium, confirmed the sequences as being those of Hematodinium perezi. | Keywords: | bioinvasion;parasites;ITS1 rDNA;coastal lagoon;North Africa | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/43052 | DOI: | 10.20944/preprints202405.1088.v1 | Rights: | 2024 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited. | Category: | O | Type: | Preprint |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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Lamkhalkhal et al 2024 Preprints.pdf | Published version | 1.01 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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