Low virulence potential and in vivo transformation ability in the honey bee venom treated Clinostomum complanatum.

The helminth parasites possess great capabilities to adapt themselves within their hosts and also develop strategies to render the commonly used anthelmintics ineffective leading to the development of resistance against these drugs. Besides using anthelmintics the natural products have also been tested for their anti-parasitic effects. Therapeutic efficacy of honey bee venom (HBV) has been tested in various ailments including some protozoal infections but very little is known about its anthelmintic properties. To investigate the anthelmintic effect of HBV the excysted progenetic metacercariae of Clinostomum complanatum, a heamophagic, digenetic trematode with zoonotic potential, infecting a wide variety of hosts, were obtained from Trichogaster fasciatus, a forage fish, which serves as the intermediate host. The metacercarial worms were in vitro incubated in RPMI-1640 medium containing HBV along with the controls which were devoid of HBV for the analysis of worm motility, enzyme activity, polypeptide profile and surface topographical changes. The motility of the worms was significantly reduced in a time dependent manner with an increase in the concentration of HBV. Following incubation of worms the release of cysteine proteases was inhibited in the presence of HBV as revealed by gelatine substrate gel zymography. As well as the polypeptide profile was also significantly influenced, particularly intensity/expression of Mr 19.4 kDa, 24 kDa and 34 kDa was significantly reduced upon HBV treatment. The HBV treatment also inhibited antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) significantly (p < 0.05) in the worms. The scanning electron microscopy of the HBV treated worms revealed tegumental disruptions and erosion of papillae as well as spines showing vacuolation in the tegument. The HBV treated worms also showed a marked decline in the transformation rate when introduced into an experimental host which further reflect the anthelmintic potential of HBV.

Bioinvasion: a paradigm shift from marine to inland ecosystems.

Anisakidosis is one of the most fearsome zoonotic food borne disease in aquaculture. The natural infections by anisakidoids or related variety in freshwater fish are not known, though sporadic experimental reports are available abroad (Butcher and Shamsi 2011). Invasive severity of anisakidoids in fish from Gangetic riverine ecosystems, i.e., in river Ganges at Fatehpur and Allahabad, as well as in river Yamuna at Allahabad, and molecular heterogeneity among these worms have been extensively investigated. The pathways of transmission of non-native alien species due to long distance migratory habits of Rita rita, man-made alterations including dredging in long stretches of the river bed of Ganges to facilitate ballast water transfer mechanism owing to the commercial ship movements between Haldia and Allahabad; and sudden water chemistry (salinity, hardness, alkalinity) alteration (due particularly to rainy period) oriented micro-fauna interchange are identified, and remedial measures suggested.

Keys to the species of Neolebouria Gibson, 1976 (Digenea: Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae), with a redescription of Neolebouria truncata (Linton, 1940).

Three keys to the species of Neolebouria Gibson, 1976, representing three body types, are provided based on the location of the genital pore relative to the intestinal bifurcation. These are: the lanceolata body type, where the genital pore is clearly prebifurcal; the diacopae body type, where the genital pore is located at or near the level of the intestinal bifurcation; and the maorum body type, where the genital pore is clearly postbifurcal. Fifteen species were assigned to the lanceolata body type; eight species to the diacopae body type; and four species to the maorum body type. Neolebouria truncata (Linton, 1940) is redescribed and N. georgiensis Gibson, 1976 is reinstated as a valid species. Neither N. georgiensis, nor N. antarctica Szidat & Graefe, 1967 (syn. Crassicutis antarcticus Szidat & Graefe, 1967), as described by Zdzitowiecki et al. (1993), represent N. antarctica, as originally described, and N. georgiensis and N. antarctica, as described by Zdzitowiecki et al. (1993), may be conspecific.

A new species of Neolebouria Gibson, 1976 (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) from the whitecheek monocle bream, Scolopsis vosmeri (Perciformes: Nemipteridae), from the Panjim coast at Goa, with a checklist of parasites previously reported from this fish.

Neolebouria capoori n. sp. (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) is described from the whitecheek monocle bream, Scolopsis vosmeri (Bloch) (Perciformes: Nemipteridae) from the Panjim coast on the central west coast of India at Goa. The new species differs from both Neolebouria cantherhini (Li, Qiu & Zhang, 1988) as originally described from Thamnaconus modestus (Günther) (syn. Cantherines modestus Günther ) and Neolebouria confusum (Overstreet, 1969) as originally described from Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch) by having the cirrus sac surpassing the ventral sucker posteriorly in N. cantherhini and being entirely preacetabular in N. confusum compared to terminating near the midlevel of the ventral sucker in N. capoori n. sp. The new species is most similar to N. confusum, but it further differs from this species by having the vitelline fields terminating near the level of the esophageal bifurcation compared to terminating near the level of the posterior margin of the pharynx, a larger sucker ratio (1:1.7-1:2.0 compared to 1:1.4-1:1.7), a somewhat shorter cirrus sac relative to body length (160-448, representing 9-18% of the body length compared to about 367, representing 22%), and the egg of the new species has a boss at the anopercular end that is not present in N. confusum. This study represents the first report on an opecoelid from S. vosmeri. A review of the parasites reported from S. vosmeri is included.

Ecological morphotaxometry of trematodes of garfish (Teleostomi: Belonidae) from Gangetic riverine ecosystem in India. III. Principal component analysis in the dynamics of Cephalogonimus yamunii (Upadhyay, Jaiswal, Malhotra and Malhotra, 2012).

The attributes of multivariate analyses were applied to infer peculiarity in distribution dynamics of Cephalogonimus yamunii Upadhyay et al. (J Parasit, 2012) in Xenentodon cancilla under influence of interionic interactions amongst hydrobiological factors. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney's Test χ(2) statistic was significant for the effect of Dissolved Oxygen and magnesium. The temperature optimum 23-27 °C was concluded for expression of peak prevalence and mean intensity during change in water temperature between autumn and winter periods. The dominant Ist component (PC1 (p) ) from Principal Component Analysis of monthwise response of infection data by C. yamunii in X. cancilla was further confirmed by Scree Plot of Eigenvalues and Factor Loadings Plot to identify the critical impact of hardness of water on infection prevalence and mean intensity. The findings of larger PC1 (p) positive coefficients comprehensively substantiated predominating hardness factor, under the influence of enhanced Dissolved Oxygen and optimum thermal effect. Therefore, the role of multifactorial etiology is a definite possibility.

Ecological morphotaxometry of trematodes of garfish (Teleostomi: Belonidae) from Gangetic riverine ecosystem in India. II. Correlation of seasonality and host biology with distribution pattern of Cephalogonimus yamunii n.sp.

The seasonality influence on the biology and distribution dynamics of Cephalogonimus yamunii n.sp. in Xenentodon cancilla (Teleostomi: Belonidae) was reflected during 2 years' investigations. The highest infection prevalence appeared to be in late summer. Size, weight, and sex-biased population dynamics of trematode was well marked in Gangetic riverine ecosystem. The biostatistical non-parametric Mann-Whitney χ (2) test values were significant for dissolved oxygen and magnesium. The distribution of infection data on Poisson series ruled out overdispersion because good agreement was observed (P < 0.01).

Ecological morphotaxometry of trematodes of garfish (Teleostomi: Belonidae) from Gangetic riverine ecosystem in India. I. Morphology and taxometric assessment of Cephalogonimus yamunii n.sp.

A new endoparasitic fluke, Cephalogonimus yamunii n.sp. is described from the intestine of freshwater fish Xenentodon cancilla (Belonidae). The worms could be differentiated from C. amphiumae (Chandler 1932), C. apognichthysi (Gupta and Puri 1982), C. hanumanthai (Agrawal and Agarwal 1984), C. salamandrus (Dronen and Lang 1974), C. simhai (Singh 2010) and C. vesicaudus (Nickerson 1912) in a unipartite seminal vesicle, genital pore subterminal anteriorly, opening at the hind end of oral sucker, equatorial or sub-equatorial testes, besides other morphological attributes of shorter body and pharynx, larger oesophagus and oral sucker, smaller ventral sucker, testes, cirrus sac and ovary, and a terminal excretory pore. Taxometric substantiation has been presented by using Polythetic Divisive Classificatory System, and ecological attributes have been evaluated to validate specific distribution patterns in population dynamics of the new species in simultaneous contributions.

Taxometric analysis of helminthes of marine fishes. 1. Pedunculacetabulum spinatum n.sp., from Chorinemus mandetta and Wenyonia rhincodonti n.sp., from Rhincodon typus.

The investigations include report of two new worms from marine fishes of Central West Coast of Goa in Arabian Sea. A trematode, Pedunculacetabulum spinatum n.sp. from Chorinemusmandetta and Wenyonia rhincodoni n.sp. from sharks, Rhincodon typus have been described and compared with closer species. The systematics of genus Pedunculacetabulum Yamaguti (Japan J Zool 6:1-112, 1934) has been discussed with detailed evidence of taxometric significance to reinstate this genus.