Molecular confirmation of pearl formation in arctic mussels (Mytilus edulis) caused by Gymnophallus bursicola (Odhner 1900) metacercariae.

ABSTRACT: In recent field studies, suspected gymnophallid metacercariae were histologically located in the mantle of mussels from the Norwegian Sea. Mussels from the sites in which that infection was detected also presented abnormally high pearl numbers. It has been previously described that gymnophallid metacercariae could cause pearl formation processes in mussels, as a host reaction to encapsulate these metacercariae. Given the pathological host reaction these parasites elicit, a study was performed to identify gymnophallid metacercariae found in mussels collected from Tromsø at morphological and molecular level and to assess, by the use of molecular tools, the relationship between the parasite and the biological material inside the pearls. As a result, Gymnophallus bursicola metacercariae

SUBMITTER: Benito D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10801375 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature