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Pathological and phylogenetic characterization of Amphibiothecum sp. infection in an isolated amphibian (Lissotriton helveticus) population on the island of Rum (Scotland)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2016

CATERINA FIEGNA ,
CHARLOTTE L. CLARKE ,
DARREN J. SHAW ,
JOHANNA L. BAILY ,
FRANCES C. CLARE ,
ALEXANDRA GRAY ,
TRENTON W. J. GARNER  and
ANNA L. MEREDITH
CATERINA FIEGNA
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK
CHARLOTTE L. CLARKE*
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY London, UK
DARREN J. SHAW
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK
JOHANNA L. BAILY
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK
FRANCES C. CLARE
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY London, UK
ALEXANDRA GRAY
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY London, UK
TRENTON W. J. GARNER
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY London, UK
ANNA L. MEREDITH
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK and Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY London, UK. E-mail: charlotte.wood@ioz.ac.uk
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Summary

Outbreaks of cutaneous infectious disease in amphibians are increasingly being attributed to an overlooked group of fungal-like pathogens, the Dermocystids. During the last 10 years on the Isle of Rum, Scotland, palmate newts (Lissotriton helveticus) have been reportedly afflicted by unusual skin lesions. Here we present pathological and molecular findings confirming that the pathogen associated with these lesions is a novel organism of the order Dermocystida, and represents the first formally reported, and potentially lethal, case of amphibian Dermocystid infection in the UK. Whilst the gross pathology and the parasite cyst morphology were synonymous to those described in a study from infected L. helveticus in France, we observed a more extreme clinical outcome on Rum involving severe subcutaneous oedema. Phylogenetic topologies supported synonymy between Dermocystid sequences from Rum and France and as well as their distinction from Amphibiocystidium spp. Phylogenetic analysis also suggested that the amphibian-infecting Dermocystids are not monophyletic. We conclude that the L. helveticus-infecting pathogen represents a single, novel species; Amphibiothecum meredithae.

Keywords

AmphibiocystidiumDermocystidiumAmphibiothecumpalmate newtsinfectionpathologyphylogenetics
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 144 , Issue 4 , April 2017 , pp. 484 - 496
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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Footnotes

†

Co-first authors.

References

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