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Morpho-molecular identification of Heterophyes heterophyes encysted metacercariae and its immunological and histopathological effects on farmed Mugil cephalus in Egypt

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Abstract

Molecular and immunological aspects of heterophyid infections in mullets are scanty. This study was initiated to identify heterophyid encysted metacercariae infecting gray mullet Mugil cephalus by morphological and molecular assays and to evaluate its immunological effects on infected mullets. Both farmed fish, from a private farm nearby Lake Manzala in Damietta, Egypt, and wild-caught fish, from the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, were investigated. The presence of heterophyid encysted metacercariae was significantly higher (80%) in wild than in farmed fish (30%). Morphological identification of metacercariae showed characteristic features of H. heterophyes. The result of sequences of 28S and ITS2 rDNA regions of Heterophyes EMC was consistent with the morphological data. The gene expression analysis of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in tissues of infected fish qRT-PCR showed a significant increase (p < 0.05). Encysted metacercariae were detected microscopically in sections of infected fish with variable histopathological lesions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt

    Marwa M. Attia

  2. Department of Hydrobiology, Veterinary Research Division, National Research Centre, 12622 Dokki, Giza, Egypt

    Mamdouh Y. Elgendy

  3. Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, PO 12211, Egypt

    Mohamed Abdelsalam & Nehal A. Younis

  4. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt

    Azza Hassan

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

    Abdelbary Prince

  6. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt

    Nagla M. K. Salaeh

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  1. Marwa M. Attia
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  2. Mamdouh Y. Elgendy
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  3. Mohamed Abdelsalam
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  4. Azza Hassan
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  5. Abdelbary Prince
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  6. Nagla M. K. Salaeh
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  7. Nehal A. Younis
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All authors equally contributed to this study.

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Correspondence to Mohamed Abdelsalam.

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All standard national and international ethical guidelines dealing with fish sampling were fully adopted and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University.

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Attia, M.M., Elgendy, M.Y., Abdelsalam, M. et al. Morpho-molecular identification of Heterophyes heterophyes encysted metacercariae and its immunological and histopathological effects on farmed Mugil cephalus in Egypt. Aquacult Int 29, 1393–1407 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-021-00708-3

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