AN UNIDENTIFIED EPI-EPITHELIAL MYXOSPOREAN IN THE INTESTINE OF GILTHEAD SEA BREAM SPARUS AURATA L.

In the course of experimental infections of gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata with the myxozoan Enteromyxum leei, stages of an unidentified myxozoan were observed attached to the intestinal brush border of some fish. Infection levels of the parasite, which was named "epi-epithelial myxosporean" (EEM) were recorded, and its structure was studied by light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopy (EM). In situ hybridisation (ISH) probes specific for E. leei were developed and used to differentiate between the two parasites. The EEM parasite was observed only in epi-epithelial position on the intestine mucosa and never in any of the other tissues studied (kidney and gall bladder). Prevalence was variable, with values reaching 40.2%. With transmission EM, trophozoites displayed pseudopodia-like projections inserted in between the enterocyte microvilli, producing an intimate interface. No mucosal histopathology that could be attributed to the myxozoan was found. EEM stages did not stain with the E. leei-specific ISH probes. From the results of the LM, EM and ISH studies, we conclude that the EEM parasite found in gilthead sea bream intestine in both Mediterranean and Red Sea sites is a coelozoic myxosporean, distinct from E. leei.