Dinoflagellates Amyloodinium and Ichthyodinium (Dinophyceae), parasites of marine fishes in the South Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

The morphology and molecular phylogeny of the parasitic dinoflagellates Ichthyodinium chabelardi and Amyloodinium ocellatum was investigated off Brazil (South Atlantic Ocean). This is the first record of Ichthyodinium and the first molecular data of both parasites from the southern hemisphere. Ichthyodinium chabelardi infected the yolk of eggs of feral populations of Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita; Engraulidae) and Brazilian sardinella (Sardinella brasiliensis; Clupeidae) in different seasons. The SSU rRNA and ITS gene sequences were identical and confirmed Ichthyodinium as a host generalist. The new sequences clustered with the type species I. chabelardi from the North Atlantic and environmental sequences from the Pacific Ocean. A second species from the western Pacific remains undescribed. Amyloodinium ocellatum was isolated from the gills of a cultured cobia fish (Rachycentron canadum) after causing mortality. The SSU rRNA gene sequence of the Brazilian isolate was almost identical to those from the northern hemisphere. This suggests a single species with a widespread distribution, although it is uncertain whether the species has a natural pantropical distribution or is the result of artificial distribution due to the humaninduced fish transport.