@article { , title = {Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria ascidiae in an inland culture system}, abstract = {An important way to keep transgenic and mutant lines of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, a model system for e.g. genetic functions, in laboratories is via culturing systems. Here we report a disease of C. intestinalis observed in an inland culturing system. The disease, called ‘long feces syndrome,’ is expressed in affected animals by the following characteristic symptoms of the digestive system: (1) excretion of long and thin feces, (2) pale color of the stomach, and (3) congestion of the digestive tube by digested material. Severely diseased animals usually die within a week after the first symptoms occur, implying a high risk of this disease for ascidian culturing systems. The digestive tubes of the diseased animals are occupied by the gregarine apicomplexan parasite Lankesteria ascidiae, suggesting that large-scale infection by this parasite is the cause of long feces syndrome.}, doi = {10.3354/dao02534}, eissn = {1616-1580}, issn = {0177-5103}, issue = {3}, note = {School: sch\_lss}, pages = {185-195}, publicationstatus = {Published}, publisher = {Inter Research}, url = {http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6395}, volume = {101}, keyword = {577.7 Marine ecology, 593 Marine & seashore invertebrates, QR Microbiology, Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics}, year = {2012}, author = {Mita, Kaoru and Kawai, Narudo and Rueckert, S and Sasakura, Yasunori} }