Host-parasite interface of fish acanthocephalans. I. Acanthocephalus anguillae (Palaeacanthocephala) in naturally infected fishes: LM and TEM investigations
- 1 January 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Inter-Research Science Center in Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
- Vol. 4 (2) , 109-119
- https://doi.org/10.3354/dao004109
Abstract
Nine species of freshwater fish from Ruhrlake (FRG) were investigated for infection with Acanthocephalus anguillae over 2 yr. Prevalence rates of infected fish did not depend on season and were as follows: Leuciscus cephalus (chub) 84%, Tinca tinca (tench) 44%, Abramis brama (bream) 34%, Anguilla anguilla (eel) 30%, Rutilus rutilus (roach) 16%, Alburnus alburnus (bleak) 15%. Mean intensities ranged from 1 to 7 worms per fish. Chub was the major host in terms of both prevalence and intensity of infection. For investigations on the host-parasite interface Salmo trutta (brown trout), S. gairdneri (rainbow trout) and Leuciscus leuciscus (dace) from other biotopes were also included. In club, tench, eel, dace and bleak the worms penetrated the intestinal wall by their presoma up to the muscularis or even perforated it completely. In these hosts, living or dead worms were also found within the peritoneal cavity and/or viscera. In roach and bream the worms did not penetrate the muscularis, whereas in brown and rainbow trout they never penetrated the stratum compactum. The hosts'' inflammatory tissue consisted of 3 zones. The first layer, of necrotic cells and degranulated granulocytes, was found adjacent to the surface of the parasite. This necrotic zone gradually passed over to a second layer of mostly intact eosinophilic and heterophilic granulocytes and fibroblasts. The fibrous outer layer was only found in those hosts where the worms penetrated the muscularis. A semiliquid, osmiophilic layer between worm-presoma and host tissue was conspicuous in all fish species.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: