Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2023 | 15(1): 22533–22537
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8046.15.1.22533-22537
#8046 | Received 10 June 2022 | Final received
27 October 2022 | Finally accepted 23 January 2023
Incidence of Clinostomum complanatum
(Trematoda: Clinostomidae) in
Trichogaster fasciata
(Actinopterygii: Osphronemidae), the first report
from Deepor Beel, Assam,
India
Bobita Bordoloi
1 & Arup Kumar Hazarika 2
1,2 Department of
Zoology, Cotton University, Panbazar, Guwahati, Assam
781001, India,
1 bobitabordoloi22@gmail.com,
2 arup.hazarika@cottonuniversity.ac.in (corresponding author)
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publication: 26 January 2023
(online & print)
Citation: Bordoloi,
B. & A.K. Hazarika (2023). Incidence of Clinostomum complanatum
(Trematoda: Clinostomidae)
in Trichogaster fasciata
(Actinopterygii: Osphronemidae), the first report
from Deepor Beel, Assam,
India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(1): 22533–22537. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8046.15.1.22533-22537
Copyright: © Bordoloi & Hazarika 2023. Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors would
like to offer sincere thanks to the principal chief conservator of forests
(Wildlife), Assam for allowing to conduct research in Deepor
Beel, Assam. The authors are thankful to Samujjal Saharia, research
scholar, Gauhati University for his help and support
during the field survey and collection of fishes from Deepor
Beel. The authors acknowledge the head of the
Department of Zoology, Cotton University for providing the necessary laboratory
facilities. Also, the authors are obliged to Professor Ramesh Chandra Deka,
Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Cotton University for inspiring and motivating to
write research papers.
Abstract: Fish constitute a major
component of diet for the people of northeastern India and one of the main food
items for most people in Assam. But fishes are facing serious risks due to
parasitic infestations which deteriorate the food value and also leads to fish
mortality. The present study aims to investigate the occurrence of helminth
parasites in some selected fishes of the species Mystus
tengara, Channa
punctata, and Trichogaster
fasciata collected from Deepor
Beel, Guwahati, Assam. Trematode parasite species
have been recorded from Trichogaster fasciata. The recovered trematode is Clinostomum complanatum
belonging to the family Clinostomatidae. The present
study incorporates the morphological, morphometric, and scanning electron
microscopy studies of the prevailing parasite. This study is the first report
on the occurrence of helminth parasites in the edible freshwater fishes
collected from Deepor Beel.
Keywords: Food value,
freshwater fish, Helminth, Infestation, parasite, Trematode.
India occupies its
position among the 17 mega-diversity countries harboring around 55 families of
freshwater fish (Koiri & Roy 2016). In
northeastern India, Assam is the most water-resourceful state that has a rich
variety of ichthyofauna and the beels (lakes) produce
50,000 tons of fish per year (Dutta & Lahon 1987;
Lebanan & Mohilal
2021). Fish constitute a major component of diet of the people of northeastern
India (Jyrwa et al. 2016) and one of the main food
items for most people in Assam. Moreover, fish and fish cultivation provide a
valuable source of food and employment opportunities. Also, fish constitutes
the most beneficial and nutritional resource for human beings (Wali et al. 2016). But fishes are being threatened by
various parasitic infestations throughout the world. Parasitic infestations
cause deterioration of the food value of fish and may even lead to fish
mortality (Keisham & Mohilal
2020; Moravec et al. 2017). Parasitic diseases of fish are prevalent and are of
specific importance in the tropics. About 30,000 helminth species have been
estimated as parasites of fishes, of which most are known to be of serious
threat to their hosts. As estimated by the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the number of people currently infected with fish-borne trematodes
exceeds 18 million, and many more are at risk (Jyrwa
et al. 2016). They pose serious problem causing huge economic losses in the
fishing industry and in aquaculture (Amare et al. 2014). Helminth parasites
constitute a significant group of pathogens and cause infection & diseases
in fish in freshwater & marine environments (Jyrwa
et al. 2016). Considerable work has been conducted on several aspects of fish
faunal diversity, hydrobiology, and productivity of rivers and beels of Guwahati of Assam (Dey
1981; Das & Bordoloi 1997; Saha
& Bordoloi 2009). Bhalerao
(1942) has made a remarkable contribution to the taxonomy of digenetic
trematode parasites.
In the context of
Assam, a few works have been contributed to fish parasitology. Binky et al.
(2011) studied the helminth parasites of Karbhala
Wetland in Cachar District of Assam. Das et al.
(2012) studied the intensity of cestode parasites in Monopterus
cuchia of Cachar. Das
& Goswami (2014) studied the organal
distribution and seasonal occurrence of parasites from three wetlands of Goalpara District. Ngasepam &
Kar (2014) worked on the helminth parasites of fishes of Sone beel in Karimganj. Singha et al.
(2015) studied the parasites of Notopterus
notopterus, Channa punctata, and Heteropneustes
fossilis in Dolu Lake, Silchar. The present study was undertaken to study
the presence of any helminth parasites in some selected edible freshwater
fishes from Deepor beel,
Guwahati, Assam that were not reported hitherto from this area.
Materials and Methods
During the present
study, fishes of the species Mystus tengara, Channa punctata, and Trichogaster
fasciata were collected from September 2020 to
August 2021 from Deepor Beel
with the help from local fishermen. During the study about 200 fishes were
collected and examined. Fish samples were brought to the laboratory in live
condition. Serial numbers were provided for each sample, the total length and
weight measured of the specimens thoroughly examined for the parasitological
study. In the present study, the body cavity, kidneys, liver, stomach, and
intestines were examined for the presence of endoparasites. Trematodes were
collected from the body cavity of Trichogaster
fasciata by following Justine et al. (2012). The
recovered parasites were flattened between two slides, fixed in 70% ethanol,
and processed for wholemount preparation following standard procedure using Aceto alum carmine as a stain. Clinostomum
complanatum were identified by light microscopy
following Keys to Trematoda (Vol. 2) and the
morphological description of C. complanatum by
Caffara et al. (2011) and Ngamniyom
et al. (2012). The morphometric measurements of the parasite were taken by
using a stage and ocular micrometer.
Preparation of the
specimen for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
For Scanning Electron
Microscopy (SEM), the parasite specimens were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde,
washed in 0.1M Sodium Cacodylate Buffer for 4 hours at 4 ̊C before post-fixing
them in 1% Osmium Tetroxide in the same buffer for 1 hour at 4˚C. The specimens
were then dehydrated through a graded series of acetone, dried, and mounted on
brass stubs. After mounting, the specimens were coated with gold and examined
with a FESEM scanning electron microscope model Zeiss Sigma 300.
Results and Discussion
A total of
eighty-five middle-size Trichogaster fasciata were examined during the study period, and 27
were found infested with the specimen of Clinostomum
complanatum (Image 1a,b,c). All specimen were
recovered from the peritoneal cavity of the examined fishes.
Description of
trematode parasite, Clinostomum complanatum
Identifying
characters: The fixed worms appear relatively stout; however,
prior to fixation, the live worms are very motile, exhibiting high
contractility. The worm-like bodies are medium-sized to large, stout, linguiform, tongue-shaped, and bluntly rounded at the
anterior and posterior ends. The body length varies between 5.7–7 mm, and the
body width 1.9–2.5 mm. The body is convex dorsally and concave ventrally. Oral
sucker oval, subterminal, and surrounded by collar-like folds and its surface
is covered by ridges and pits. Oral sucker length ranges between 0.098–0.175 mm
while the width varies between 0.200–0.395 mm. Ventral sucker muscular,
well-developed, and larger than the oral positioned in the anterior half of the
body. The length of the ventral sucker ranges between 0.700–0.900 mm, and the
width ranges between 0.810–0.930 mm. Caeca long, simple, located in the
anterior half of the body without long lateral branches and diverticula.
Testes, located in posterior half of the body are smooth or irregular in shape.
The anterior lobe of the testes lies in the middle, and the posterior lobe is
positioned at the rear end of the parasite. The length of the anterior testis
varies between 0.307–0.520 mm, and the width ranges between 0.290–0.480 mm.
Posterior testis length varies between 0.292–0.500 mm, and the width varies
between 0.450–520 mm. Ovary intertesticular, ovoid or
rounded, median or submedian. The length of the ovary
ranges between 0.149–0.164 mm, and the width ranges between 0.119–0.168 mm.
Vitelline follicles are present between the posterior extremity and the level
of the ventral sucker. The uterus is intercaecal, positioned between the caudal
region of the ventral sucker and intertesticular
space.
Scanning electron
microscopy structure: Scanning electron microscopy of the trematode
parasite revealed additional topographical features that confirmed the specimen
as Clinostomum complanatum.
The body surface is characterized by the presence of tegumental
pits and furrows with a smooth, aspinous layer. The
body has rounded extremities with two suckers (one oral sucker and one ventral
sucker) (Image 3a,b). Oral sucker subterminal in position with a rounded
opening characterized by two collar rings and covered by ridges, pits, and
dome-like papillae (Image 3c). The rim of both the oral and the sucker were aspinous and non-papillated. The oval-shaped ventral sucker
positioned in the anterior half of the body exhibited sponge-like characters,
and wavy wrinkles with dome-shaped papillae around the ventral sucker (Image
3d,e). The tegumental infoldings, furrows, and ridges
impart stretching and contractility to the metacercariae.
The dorsal surface of the parasite body revealed regularly distributed spinous
protrusions (Image 3f).
The family Clinostomidae was first erected by Lühe
(1901) for Clinostomum Leidy, 1856. In the
present study, the morphometric measurements of the parasite corroborate with
the study of Caffara et al. (2011) and Ngamniyom et al. (2012). Scanning electron microscopic
studies of the topography of the parasite revealed additional features which
correlates with the study by Abidi et al. (1988), Caffara et al. (2011), Ngamniyom
et al. (2012), & Kundu et al. (2021) and confirmed the recovered parasite
specimen as Clinostomum complanatum
belonging to the family Clinostomatidae.
However, Ngamniyom et al. (2012) and Caffara et al. (2011) observed spines with cytoplasmic
ridges in the dorsal and the ventral region showing cobblestone-like units, but
such observations were not recorded in the trematode parasites in the present
study.
Conclusion
The present study is
the first report on the occurrence of trematode parasite Clinostomum
complanatum from edible freshwater fish species Trichogaster fasciata
collected from Deepor Beel.
The edible freshwater fish Trichogaster fasciata were infected with the metacercariae
of the trematode parasite. Along with morphological data, SEM study provides
specific characteristics of the topography that helped in the identification of
the trematode parasite.
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