Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria ascidiae in an inland culture system

Mita, Kaoru; Kawai, Narudo; Rueckert, S; Sasakura, Yasunori

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.

Citation

Mita, K., Kawai, N., Rueckert, S., & Sasakura, Y. (2012). Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria ascidiae in an inland culture system. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 101(3), 185-195. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02534

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Nov 19, 2012
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2013
• Print ISSN: 0177-5103
• Electronic ISSN: 1616-1580
• Publisher: Inter Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 101
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 185-195
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02534
• Keywords: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6395
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/dao02534