Morphological and molecular characterization of Myxobolus puntiusii n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting Puntius sophore Hamilton, 1822 from Ranjit Sagar Wetland, Punjab (India)

Abstract

The pool barb,Puntius sophoreHamilton, 1822, is a tropical freshwater cyprinid fish native to inland waters in Asia. Herein,a novel myxozoan from plasmodia on the caudal fin ofP. sophorefrom Ranjit Sagar Wetland in Punjab, India is described. Myxosporeswere consistent with the genusMyxobolus , ellipsoidal in frontal view, lemon-shaped in lateral view; length 7.76 ± 0.28 μm, width 5.36± 0.15 μm. There were two polar capsules of unequal size: a larger polar capsule, length 3.01 ± 0.08 μm, width 1.83 ± 0.11 μm, with 6 7turns of the polar filament, and a smaller polar capsule, length 1.71 ± 0.15 μm, width 0.94 ± 0.07 μm, with 3 4 turns of the polar filament.The 1183 bp 18S rDNA sequence was up to 95% similar toMyxobolusspp. from other cyprinid fishes in India. Given the novel host,unique myxospore morphology, and 18S rDNA sequence, we proposeMyxobolus puntiusiin. sp.