Exploring marine Lactobacillus and its protein for probiotic-based oral cancer therapy.

Cancer is a life-threatening malignancy and one of the leading global causes of human mortality. New approaches are required for cancer therapy due to the unique properties of cancer cells and the side effects of chemotherapy. Probiotics have gained significant attention in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer effects of probiotics, such as marine Lactobacillus species and their proteins. Five marine Lactobacillus species were isolated and identified from the Tamil Nadu Mangrove Pichavaram (TLMP) forest and named TLMP1, TLMP2, TLMP3, TLMP4, and TLMP5. The Lactobacillus isolates, and their proteins were administered to male golden Syrian hamsters. Tumor formation was effectively controlled in hamsters treated with crude Lactobacillus, extending their lifespan. Additionally, Lactobacillus proteins demonstrated an inhibitory effect on tumor formation in the treated group compared to the control. Molecular docking analysis revealed that Lactobacillus proteins interacted significantly with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit alpha. Amino acid residues LYS791, MET793, ARG841, ARG842, and LEU844 were involved in active site binding and played a crucial role in inhibiting cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

A new species of Cardiodectes Wilson C.B., 1917 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) from Spinyjaw greeneye, Chlorophthalmus corniger Alcock, 1894 off the Indian Ocean.

A new species of flesh penetrating parasitic copepod of the genus CardiodectesWilson C.B., 1917 (Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) parasitizing the fish Spinyjaw greeneye, Chlorophthalmus cornigerAlcock, 1894 (Chlorophthalmidae), inhabiting at depths of 265 to 458 meters from the south-west coast of India is described and illustrated. The new species, Cardiodectes vampire sp. nov., can be distinguished from its other 16 congeners by the following features: (i) trunk 3.15 times as long as wide; (ii) extremely long (3.5 times as long as total body length) and uncoiled egg sacs; (iii) difference in the armature of legs 13; (iv) comparatively longer trunk (0.7 times as long as total body length). A checklist of valid global species of Cardiodecteswith its host and distribution is also provided.

A mini-review on the effects of COVID-19 on younger individuals.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has uprooted our lives like never before since its onset in the late December 2019. The world has seen mounting infections and deaths over the past few months despite the unprecedented measures countries are implementing, such as lockdowns, social distancing, mask-wearing, and banning gatherings in large groups. Interestingly, young individuals seem less likely to be impacted by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19. While the rate of transmission, symptom presentation, and fatality is lower in children than people from other age groups, they have been disproportionately affected by strict lockdown measures needed to curb viral spread. In this review, we describe the association between patient age and COVID-19, epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, psychological effects associated with lockdowns and school closures, and possible mechanisms underlying lower transmission rate of COVID-19 in children.

Redescription of Lernaeenicus stromatei Gnanamuthu, 1953 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) infesting the Black Pomfret Parastromateus niger (Bloch) from Indian waters.

The parasitic copepod Lernaeenicus stromatei Gnanamuthu, 1953 infecting black pomfret, Parastromateus niger (Bloch) (Carangidae) is redescribed based on a neotype and additional fresh material obtained from hosts collected at different fish landing centers on the Chennai Coast (Tamil Nadu), Malabar Coast (Kerala), and from West Bengal, India. A female L. stromatei obtained from the Chennai Coast has been designated as a neotype and deposited in the National Zoological Collections of Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI). Lernaeenicus stromatei can be identified based on the following features: A long and slender body; head anteriorly rounded, dorso-ventrally flattened and slightly longer than broad; presence of three posterior horns on the head, one median and two lateral, all sub-similar and apically rounded; and an anterior neck with an indistinct partition on the dorsal side, indicating thoracic segments, and a three-jointed antennule.

A new species of Prohatschekia Nunes-Ruivo, 1954 (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) from the scorpaenid fish, Scorpaena neglecta Temminck & Schlegel, 1843 (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), in Korean waters.

A new species of parasitic copepod, Prohatschekia pseudocremouxi sp. nov. is described based on adult females collected from the gills of the scorpaenid fish, Scorpaena neglecta Temminck & Schlegel, 1843 caught in Korean waters. The new species is most closely related to P. cremouxi Nunes-Ruivo, 1954, but differs from it by the following combination of characters in the adult female: the size of the trunk which is about 3.7 times as long as cephalothorax; the short and strongly curved antennary claw; and the distal segment of the maxilla is tipped with a simple seta. This discovery raises the number of nominal species in Prohatschekia Nunes-Ruivo, 1954 to eight and represents the first record of the genus in Korea.

The genus Lernaeenicus Lesueur (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Pennellidae) in India: a checklist with notes on its taxonomy and ecology.

Members of the pennellid genus Lernaeenicus Lesueur, 1824 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) have frequently been recorded from commercially important fishes collected along the coasts of India. Marine fish hosts from landing centres at Nagapattinam and Parangipettai Tamil Nadu, southeast coast of India, were examined for parasitic copepods between January 2011 and December 2013. A total of nine species including three unidentified species of Lernaeenicus were recorded: (1) L. alatus Rangnekar, 1962 from the Indo-Pacific king mackerel Scomberomorus guttatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), (2) L. anchoviellae Sebastian & George, 1964 from the golden trevally Gnathanodon speciosus (Forsskål, 1775), (3) L. hemirhamphi Kirtisinghe, 1932 from the blue-barred halfbeak Hemiramphus far (Forsskål, 1775), Lutke's halfbeak H. lutkei Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1847a and the ribbon halfbeak Euleptorhamphus viridis (van Hasselt, 1823b), (4) L. polynemi Bassett-Smith, 1898 from the fourfinger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw, 1804), (5) L. seeri Kirtisinghe, 1934 from the wahoo Acanthocybium solandri (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1832), (6) L. stromatei Gnanamuthu, 1953 from the black pomfret Parastromateus niger (Bloch, 1795), (7) Lernaeenicus sp. 1 from the Indian anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823a) and the rainbow sardine Dussumieria acuta Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1847b, (8) Lernaeenicus sp. 2 from the goldspot mullet Chelon parsia (Hamilton, 1822), and (9) Lernaeenicus sp. 3 from the flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758. Four pennellid species (L. hemirhamphi, L. polynemi, L. seeri and L. stromatei) were studied for their seasonal occurrence including prevalence and mean intensity, both of which were high in postmonsoon (2011) and low in premonsoon (2013) seasons. A checklist is provided for the Indian species of Lernaeenicus.

New records of Caligidae (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) from the Philippines.

Parasitic copepods, especially sea lice (Caligidae) are causing economic problems in both aquaculture and to wild fishes around the world, but their study in at least some of the southeastern Asian countries, is still scanty. Here we provide new information on the distribution of 11 known species of parasitic copepods collected from 11 marine fish hosts from Iloilo, central part of the Philippines. Two species of the genus Anuretes Heller, 1865 and nine species of the genus Caligus Müller, 1785 were found to infest these hosts, i.e. Anuretes branchialis Rangnekar, 1953 from Platax orbicularis (Forsskål, 1775); A. plectorhynchi Yamaguti, 1936 from P. orbicularis and Plectorhinchus pictus (Tortonese, 1936); Caligus absens Ho, Lin et Chen, 2000 from Priacanthus macracanthus Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1829; C. asymmetricus Kabata, 1965 and C. coryphaenae (Steenstrup & Lütken, 1861) from Auxis thazard (Lacepède, 1800); C. bonito Wilson, 1905 from Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758; C. cordyla Pillai, 1963 from Megalaspis cordyla (Linnaeus, 1758); C. cornutus Heegaard, 1962 from Sphyraena jello Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1829; C. epinepheli Yamaguti, 1936 from Scomberoides commersonnianus Lacepède, 1801; C. kanagurta Pillai, 1961 from Decapterus kurroides Bleeker, 1855, D. macarellus (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1833) and C. hippurus; and C. rotundigenitalis Yü, 1933 from Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766). Attachment sites included the gill filaments and the body surface. Prevalence and mean intensity of caligids are provided in addition to an update on the checklist of caligids of the Philippines. Although reports on caligids in the Philippines are few, the published records indicate that sea lice are widely distributed throughout the archipelago.

Cepolacanthus kimi, a new genus and species of copepod (Cyclopoida: Taeniacanthidae) parasitic on Bandfish Acanthocepola abbreviata (Valenciennes, 1835) (Actinopterygii: Cepolidae) caught off the Iraqi coast.

A new genus and species, Cepolacanthus kimi, of the family Taeniacanthidae is established based on adult female specimens collected from the gills of Bandfish Acanthocepola abbreviata (Valenciennes, 1835) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Cepolidae) caught off the coast of Iraq. The new genus is characterised by the following combination of features: 1) the urosome is composed of five somites, with the last urosomite probably being a compound somite formed from the failure of the third and fourth abdominal somites to separate; 2) the seta on the maxillary basis is displaced proximally from the free spinulated element; 3) the terminal claw (endopod) of the maxilliped is long and attenuate; 4) the endopod of legs 2-4 is 2-segmented; and 5) the terminal exopodal segment of leg 4 bears a prominent distolateral protuberance. Cepolacanthus kimi gen. et sp. nov. is the first copepod reported from A. abbreviata and the second taeniacanthid species recorded from the Iraqi coast. A new replacement name, Suncheonacanthus nom. nov., is proposed for the preoccupied generic name, Triacanthus Kim & Moon, 2013.

On the occurrence of caligids (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) in the marine plankton: a review and checklist.

Members of the copepod genus Caligus Müller, 1785 (Siphonostomatoida: Caligidae) are commonly referred to as sea lice. Virtually all of the more than 450 species utilize marine fishes as hosts, however, an increasing number of records from marine plankton samples shows that at least some species reside in the water column during their adult phase. Members of three different genera, Caligus, Lepeophtheirus von Nordmann, 1832, and Metacaligus Thomsen, 1949 have been reported from plankton samples off eastern Asia and in the north-western Atlantic. Thirteen species have so far been consistently reported from the plankton only with no information on their hosts. Here we review the various hypotheses previously proposed to explain the presence of caligids in the water column, i.e. accidental occurrence, behavioral detachment from the host during mate location, and host-switching. The discovery of adults of two species of Caligus with no other developmental stages on their teleost hosts, suggests an ontogenetic host-switching after the final molt since both species also occurred in plankton samples. A checklist of all caligid records from the marine plankton, including known host data, is presented.

A new species of parasitic copepod Nothobomolochus and redescription of Orbitacolax hapalogenyos (Yamaguti and Yamasu, 1959) (Cyclopoida: Bomolochidae) off Iraq.

A new species of bomolochid copepod Nothobomolochus ilhoikimi sp. n., (Cyclopoida), is described based on adult females collected from the gills of hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton) (Actinopterygii, Clupeidae) captured in waters off Iraq. The new species differs from its congeners by having the following combination of characters in the adult female: 1) anal somite not spinulate; 2) paragnath blunt and robust; 3) maxilla with slender proximal segment and distal segment with 2 accessory processes terminally; 4) the distal exopodal segment of leg 1 with 3 small spines; and 5) the terminal endopodal segment of leg 4 carrying one long and one short spine. It closely resembles N. triceros (Bassett-Smith, 1898) but prominently differs in above features and also in host specificity. In addition, another bomolochid Orbitacolax hapalogenyos (Yamaguti and Yamasu, 1959) is redescribed based on material collected from Japanese threadfin bream Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch) (Perciformes, Nemipteridae) captured in waters off Iraq. Two species clusters, the hapalogenyos and the analogus groups are recognized in this genus.

Complete life cycle of a pennellid Peniculus minuticaudae Shiino, 1956 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) infecting cultured threadsail filefish, Stephanolepis cirrhifer.

The complete life cycle of a pennellid copepod Peniculus minuticaudae Shiino, 1956 is proposed based on the discovery of all post-embryonic stages together with the post-metamorphic adult females infecting the fins of threadsail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer (Monacanthidae) cultured in a fish farm at Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The hatching stage was the infective copepodid. The life cycle of P. minuticaudae consists of six stages separated by moults: the copepodid, four chalimi and adult. In this study, the adult males were observed frequently in precopulatory amplexus with various stages of females however, copulation occurs only between adults. Fertilized pre-metamorphic adult females carrying spermatophores may detach from the host and settle again before undergoing massive differential growth into the post-metamorphic adult female. Comparison of the life cycle of P. minuticaudae has been made with three known pennellids: Lernaeocera branchialis (Linnaeus, 1767), Cardiodectes medusaeus (Wilson, 1908) and Lernaeenicus sprattae (Sowerby, 1806). Among the compared species, P. minuticaudae is the first ectoparasitic pennellid to be discovered to complete its life cycle on a single host without any change in infection site preferences between infective copepodid and fertilized pre-metamorphic female.

The caligid life cycle: new evidence from Lepeophtheirus elegans reconciles the cycles of Caligus and Lepeophtheirus (Copepoda: Caligidae).

The developmental stages of the sea louse Lepeophtheirus elegans (Copepoda: Caligidae) are described from material collected from marine ranched Korean rockfish, Sebastes schlegelii. In L. elegans, setal number on the proximal segment of the antennule increases from 3 in the copepodid to 27 in the adult. Using the number of setae as a stage marker supports the inference that the post-naupliar phase of the life cycle comprises six stages: copepodid, chalimus I, chalimus II, pre-adult I, pre-adult II, and the adult. We observed variation in body length in both of the chalimus stages which we consider represents an early expression of sexual size dimorphism. We interpret the larger specimens of chalimus I as putative females, and the smaller as putative males; similarly with chalimus II, larger specimens are putative females and the smaller are males. Two patterns of life cycle are currently recognized within the Caligidae but the evidence presented here reconciles the two. We conclude that the typical caligid life cycle comprises only eight stages: two naupliar, one copepodid, and four chalimus stages preceding the adult in Caligus, but with the four chalimus stages represented by two chalimus and two pre-adult stages in Lepeophtheirus. This is a profound change with significant implications for the aquaculture industry, given that lice monitoring protocols include counts of chalimus stages and use temperature to predict when they will moult into the more pathogenic, mobile pre-adults. Lice management strategies must be tailored to the precise life cycle of the parasite.