''Diplostomum pseudospathaceum'' is a species of trematode in the family
Diplostomidae
Diplostomidae is a family of trematodes in the order Diplostomida.
Genera
*'' Austrodiplostomum'' Szidat & Nani, 1951Szidat, L. & Nani, A. (1951). Diplostomiasis cerebralis del Pejerrey. Una grave epizootia que afecta a la economia nacional prod ...
.
Life cycle
It is a type of
fluke
Fluke may refer to:
Biology
* Fluke (fish), a species of marine flatfish
* Fluke (tail), the lobes of the tail of a cetacean, such as dolphins or whales, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ...
infecting the eyes of some species of fish,
altering their movement patterns to suit its needs at different stages of development.
The parasite infects snails and birds,
sexually reproducing in the latter (its
primary host
In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...
) and
asexually in the former (its first
intermediate host
In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...
), as well as many species of fish (its second intermediate host).
When infecting a fish, it quickly moves into the fish's eye
lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
, as they lack blood
circulation, so the parasite is protected there from the host's
immune system
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
.
This latter trait is probably responsible for the parasite's broad range of fish host species.
Having infected the fish, the course of infection can be modulated by co-infection with ''
Flavobacterium columnare
''Flavobacterium columnare'' is a thin Gram-negative rod bacterium of the genus ''Flavobacterium''. The name derives from the way in which the organism grows in rhizoid columnar formations.
The species was first described by Davis (1922), and th ...
''.
Hosts
Hosts of ''Diplostomum pseudospathaceum'' include:
* ''
Lymnaea stagnalis
''Lymnaea stagnalis'', better known as the great pond snail, is a species of large air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae. The great pond snail is a model organism to study parasitology, ...
'' is an intermediate host
[Soldanova M., Selbach C., Sures B., Kostadinova A. & Perez-del-Olmo A. (2010). "Larval trematode communities in ''Radix auricularia'' and ''Lymnaea stagnalis'' in a reservoir system of the Ruhr River". '']Parasites & Vectors
''Parasites & Vectors'' is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal published by BioMed Central. The journal publishes articles on the biology of parasites, parasitic diseases, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens. ''Parasites ...
'' 2010, 3: 56. .
* ''
Radix labiata
''Peregriana peregra'' is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.
Distribution and habitat
This small pond snail is found in Europe, Newfoundland and northern Asia. ...
''
[Georgieva, S., Soldánová, M., Pérez-del-Olmo, A., Dangel, D. R., Sitko, J., Sures, B., & Kostadinova, A. (2013). Molecular prospecting for European Diplostomum (Digenea: Diplostomidae) reveals cryptic diversity. International Journal for Parasitology, 43(1): 57-72. ]
References
External links
Trematodes parasiting fish
Diplostomida
Animals described in 1984
{{Trematoda-stub