Research Article

First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey

Number: Advanced Online Publication Early Pub Date: August 14, 2026
TR EN

First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey

Abstract

Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 is the most species-rich myxozoan genus, but few of its species have been described from sparid fishes. The aim of the present study was to characterise, using morphological and molecular methods, a Myxobolus species detected in the kidney of the sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo caught on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Between February and March 2026, nine fish were examined for myxosporean infection, and Myxobolus spores were detected in the kidney with a prevalence of 88.9% (8/9). Mature spores were ellipsoidal and lacked caudal appendages, measuring 10.1 ± 0.6 (8.9–11.2) µm in length, 5.7 ± 0.6 (4.5–6.7) µm in width and 5.1 ± 0.6 (4.5–6.6) µm in thickness. The two equal and pyriform polar capsules measured 3.7 ± 0.2 (3.0–4.0) µm in length and 2.0 ± 0.1 (1.7–2.2) µm in width. Molecular analyses based on partial small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequence data showed the highest similarity to Myxobolus branchiostegi, followed by M. iwagiensis and M. tai. In the phylogenetic analyses it was placed within a strongly supported clade together with these three species, separate from other marine myxobolid species. The morphological and molecular findings place the parasite within the genus Myxobolus. However, the sequence obtained here covers only part of the SSU rDNA gene and is therefore insufficient for species-level identification. This study provides the first genetic data for a Myxobolus species from D. puntazzo and a new record of the genus from this host in the Black Sea.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

No funding was received from institutions or agencies for the execution of this research.

Ethical Statement

No ethics committee permission is required for this study.

References

  1. Ali, M.A., Abdel-Baki, A.S., Sakran, Th., Entzeroth, R., Abdel-Ghaffar, F. (2007). Myxobolus lubati n. sp. (Myxosporea: Myxobolidae), a new parasite of haffara seabream Rhabdosargus haffara (Forsskål, 1775), Red Sea, Egypt: a light and transmission electron microscopy. Parasitology Research, 100: 819-827. doi: 10.1007/s00436-006-0318-5.
  2. Athanassopoulou, F., Karagouni, E., Dotsika, E., Ragias, V., Tavla, J., Christofilloyanis, P., Vatsos, I. (2004). Efficacy and toxicity of orally administrated anti-coccidial drugs for innovative treatments of Myxobolus sp. infection in Puntazzo puntazzo. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 62: 217-226. doi: 10.3354/dao062217.
  3. Bahri, S., Andree, K.B., Hedrick, R.P. (2003). Morphological and phylogenetic studies of marine Myxobolus spp. from mullet in Ichkeul Lake, Tunisia. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 50(6): 463-470. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2003.tb00272.x.
  4. Bölükbaş, C.S., Pekmezci, G.Z., Yardımcı, B., Özpiçak, M., Yılmaz, S., Polat, N. (2020). First molecular data on the validity of Myxobolus ichkeulensis (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) from Mugil cephalus (Mugilidae) in Turkish waters. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, 67: 169-174. doi: 10.33988/auvfd.603928.
  5. Bush, A.O., Lafferty, K.D., Lotz, J.M., Shostak, A.W. (1997). Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. The Journal of Parasitology, 83: 575-583. doi: 10.2307/3284227.
  6. Darriba, D., Taboada, G.L., Doallo, R., Posada, D. (2012). jModelTest 2: more models, new heuristics and parallel computing. Nature Methods, 2012 9(8): 772. doi:10.1038/nmeth.2109.
  7. Dereeper, A., Guignon, V., Blanc, G., Audic, S., Buffet, S., Chevenet, F., Dufayard, J.F., Guindon, S., Lefort, V., Lescot, M., Claverie, J.M., Gascuel, O. (2008). Phylogeny.fr: robust phylogenetic analysis for the non-specialist. Nucleic Acids Research, 36: W465-W469. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkn180.
  8. Eiras, J.C., Molnár, K., Lu, Y.S. (2005). Synopsis of the species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Myxobolidae). Systematic Parasitology, 61: 1-46. doi: 10.1007/s11230-004-6343-9.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Fish Pests and Diseases

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

August 14, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

July 29, 2026

Acceptance Date

August 13, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

APA
Şirin, C. (2026). First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey. Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences, Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.52998/trjmms.2006283
AMA
1.Şirin C. First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey. TRJMMS. 2026;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.52998/trjmms.2006283
Chicago
Şirin, Caner. 2026. “First Record of a Myxobolus Species in the Kidney of Sharpsnout Seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey”. Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.52998/trjmms.2006283.
EndNote
Şirin C (August 1, 2026) First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey. Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences Advanced Online Publication
IEEE
[1]C. Şirin, “First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey”, TRJMMS, no. Advanced Online Publication, Aug. 2026, doi: 10.52998/trjmms.2006283.
ISNAD
Şirin, Caner. “First Record of a Myxobolus Species in the Kidney of Sharpsnout Seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey”. Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences. Advanced Online Publication (August 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.52998/trjmms.2006283.
JAMA
1.Şirin C. First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey. TRJMMS. 2026. doi:10.52998/trjmms.2006283.
MLA
Şirin, Caner. “First Record of a Myxobolus Species in the Kidney of Sharpsnout Seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey”. Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication, Aug. 2026, doi:10.52998/trjmms.2006283.
Vancouver
1.Caner Şirin. First record of a Myxobolus species in the kidney of sharpsnout seabream from the Black Sea, Turkey. TRJMMS. 2026 Aug. 1;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.52998/trjmms.2006283

Creative Commons Lisansı

This Journal is licensed with Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).