Sharing is caring? Barcoding suggests co-introduction of dactylogyrid monogeneans with Nile tilapia and transfer towards native tilapias in sub-Saharan Africa

Geraerts, Mare; Huyse, Tine; Barson, Maxwell; Bassirou, Hassan; Bilong Bilong, Charles F.; Bitja Nyom, Arnold R.; Manda, Auguste Chocha; Cruz Laufer, Armando; Kabalika, Clément Kalombo; Kasembele, Gyrhaiss Kapepula; Bukinga, Fidel Muterezi; Njom, Samuel; Van Steenberge, Maarten; Artois, Tom; Vanhove, Maarten P.M.

doi:10.1016/J.IJPARA.2023.05.007

Title

Sharing is caring? Barcoding suggests co-introduction of dactylogyrid monogeneans with Nile tilapia and transfer towards native tilapias in sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Geraerts, Mare

Huyse, Tine

Barson, Maxwell

Bassirou, Hassan

Bilong Bilong, Charles F.

Bitja Nyom, Arnold R.

Manda, Auguste Chocha

Cruz Laufer, Armando

Kabalika, Clément Kalombo

Kasembele, Gyrhaiss Kapepula

Bukinga, Fidel Muterezi

Njom, Samuel

Van Steenberge, Maarten

Artois, Tom

Vanhove, Maarten P.M.

Abstract

Invasive Nile tilapias negatively impact native tilapia species through hybridisation and competition. However, the co-introduction of parasites with Nile tilapia, and subsequent changes in parasite communities, are scarcely documented. Monogeneans are known pathogens of cultured Nile tilapia, although little is known about their fate once Nile tilapias establish in new ecosystems. We investigate the parasitological consequences of Nile tilapia introduction on native tilapias in basins in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zimbabwe, focusing on ectoparasitic dactylogyrids (Monogenea). Using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) and nuclear 18S-internal transcribed spacer 1 (18S-ITS1) rDNA region of 128 and 166 worms, respectively, we evaluated transmission of several dactylogyrid species. Parasite spillover from Nile tilapia was detected for Cichlidogyrus tilapiae to Coptodon guineensis in Cameroon, Cichlidogyrus thurstonae to Oreochromis macrochir in the DRC, and Cichlidogyrus halli and C. tilapiae to Coptodon rendalli in Zimbabwe. Parasite spillback to Nile tilapia was detected for Cichlidogyrus papernastrema and Scutogyrus gravivaginus from Tilapia sparrmanii and Cichlidogyrus dossoui from C. rendalli or T. sparrmanii in the DRC, and Cichlidogyrus chloeae from Oreochromis cf. mortimeri and S. gravivaginus from O. macrochir in Zimbabwe. ‘Hidden’ transmissions (i.e. transmission of certain parasite lineages of species that are naturally present on both alien and native hosts) were detected for C. tilapiae and Scutogyrus longicornis between Nile tilapia and Oreochromis aureus and C. tilapiae between Nile tilapia and Oreochromis mweruensis in the DRC, and Cichlidogyrus sclerosus and C. tilapiae between Nile tilapia and O. cf. mortimeri in Zimbabwe. A high density of Nile tilapia occurring together with native tilapias, and the broad host range and/or environmental tolerance of the transmitted parasites, are proposed as factors behind parasite transmission through ecological fitting. However, continuous monitoring and the inclusion of environmental variables are necessary to understand the long-term consequences of these transmissions on native tilapias and to elucidate other underlying factors influencing these transmissions.

Language

English

Source (journal)

International journal for parasitology. - Oxford

Publication

Oxford : 2023

ISSN

0020-7519

DOI

10.1016/J.IJPARA.2023.05.007

Volume/pages

53 :13 (2023) , p. 711-730