Biomaterial Database

Haemolymph parasite of the shore crab Carcinus maenas: pathology, ultrastructure and observations on crustacean haplosporidians. 2004

G D Stentiford, and S W Feist, and K S Bateman, and P M Hine

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), The Nothe, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, UK.

A protozoan parasite with some features of haplosporidians is described from the European shore crab Carcinus maenas. The parasite establishes a systemic infection through the haemal sinuses and connective tissues. Intracellular stages of the parasite were found within reserve inclusion, connective tissue, and muscle cells, while free forms were present in all haemal spaces. A uninucleate stage appeared to develop to a multinucleate plasmodial stage following multiple mitotic divisions of the nucleus. Histopathology also indicated that nuclear division may occur to form multinucleate plasmodia, in connective tissue, reserve inclusion and muscle cells, the multinucleate plasmodium being enclosed in the host-cell plasma membrane. It appears that the multinucleate plasmodium may then undergo internal cleavages which result in plasmodial fragmentation to form many uninucleate stages. Both stages, but particularly the uninucleate stage, contained cytoplasmic, large, ovoid, dense vesicles (DVs), some of which contained an internal membrane separating the medulla from the cortex, as in haplosporosomes. Golgi-like cisternae, closely associated with the nuclear membrane, formed DVs and haplosporosome-like bodies (HLBs), superficially resembling viruses. Infrequently, HLBs may condense to form haplosporosomes. The DVs, as in spores of some Haplosporidium spp. and paramyxeans, may give rise to, and are homologous with, haplosporosomes. Other features, such as the presence of an intranuclear mitotic spindle, lipid droplets, and attachment of DVs and haplosporosomes to the nuclear membrane, indicate that the C. maenas parasite is a haplosporidian. A similar organism reported from the haemolymph of spot prawns Pandalus spp., and haplosporidians reported from prawns Penaeus vannamei and crabs Callinectes sapidus may belong to this group. It is concluded that the well-characterised haplosporidians of molluscs and some other invertebrates may not be characteristic of the whole phylum, and that morphologically and developmentally similar organisms may also be haplosporidians, whether they have haplosporosomes or not.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008018	Life Cycle Stages	The continuous sequence of changes undergone by living organisms during the post-embryonic developmental process, such as metamorphosis in insects and amphibians. This includes the developmental stages of apicomplexans such as the malarial parasite, PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM.	Life Cycle,Life History Stages,Cycle, Life,Cycles, Life,History Stage, Life,History Stages, Life,Life Cycle Stage,Life Cycles,Life History Stage,Stage, Life Cycle,Stage, Life History,Stages, Life Cycle,Stages, Life History
D008297	Male		Males
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D003238	Connective Tissue	Tissue that supports and binds other tissues. It consists of CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS embedded in a large amount of EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX.	Connective Tissues,Tissue, Connective,Tissues, Connective
D003386	Brachyura	An infraorder of chiefly marine, largely carnivorous CRUSTACEA, in the order DECAPODA, including the genera Cancer, Uca, and Callinectes.	Blue Crab,Callinectes sapidus,Carcinus maenas,Crab, Blue,Crab, Common Shore,Crab, Green,Crabs, Short-Tailed,Crabs, True,Green Crab,Uca,Common Shore Crab,European Shore Crab,Blue Crabs,Brachyuras,Carcinus maena,Common Shore Crabs,Crab, European Shore,Crab, Short-Tailed,Crab, True,Crabs, Blue,Crabs, Common Shore,Crabs, Green,Crabs, Short Tailed,Green Crabs,Shore Crab, Common,Shore Crab, European,Shore Crabs, Common,Short-Tailed Crab,Short-Tailed Crabs,True Crab,True Crabs,Ucas,maenas, Carcinus
D005880	Gills	Paired respiratory organs of fishes and some amphibians that are analogous to lungs. They are richly supplied with blood vessels by which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged directly with the environment.	Gill
D006113	United Kingdom	Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London.	Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006458	Hemolymph	The blood/lymphlike nutrient fluid of some invertebrates.	Hemolymphs
D006652	Histological Techniques	Methods of preparing tissue for examination and study of the origin, structure, function, or pathology.	Histologic Technic,Histologic Technics,Histologic Technique,Histologic Techniques,Histological Technics,Technic, Histologic,Technics, Histologic,Technique, Histologic,Techniques, Histologic,Histological Technic,Histological Technique,Technic, Histological,Technics, Histological,Technique, Histological,Techniques, Histological