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Gill pathology in Scottish farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., associated with the microsporidian Desmozoon lepeophtherii Freeman et Sommerville, 2009
Author(s) -
Matthews C G G,
Richards R H,
Shinn A P,
Cox D I
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of fish diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-2761
pISSN - 0140-7775
DOI - 10.1111/jfd.12084
Subject(s) - salmo , biology , aquaculture , zoology , pathology , disease , zebrafish , parasite hosting , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , genetics , medicine , gene , world wide web , computer science
Gill disorders have emerged in recent years as a significant problem in the production of marine‐stage Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. The multi‐aetiological condition ‘proliferative gill inflammation’ ( PGI ) has been reported to cause heavy losses in western Norway, yet reports of Scottish cases of the disease have remained anecdotal. In the present study, histopathological material from a marine production site in the Scottish Highlands experiencing mortalities due to a seasonal gill disease with proliferative‐type pathology was examined using light microscopy, special staining techniques and transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ). The microsporidian Desmozoon lepeophtherii Freeman et Sommerville, 2009 (syn. Paranucleospora theridion ) was identified by staining using a Gram Twort method and TEM associated with distinctive proliferative and necrotic pathology confined to the interlamellar Malpighian cell areas of the primary filaments. Epitheliocystis was not a feature of the gill pathology observed. It is believed this is the first report of D. lepeophtherii being identified associated with pathology in a Scottish gill disease case, and supports anecdotal reports that a disease at least partly synonymous with PGI as described by Norwegian researchers is present in Scottish aquaculture.