Genomic Insights into Parasites of Fishes

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 477

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Interests: aquatic animal health; molecular diagnostics; blood flukes; trematodes; scuticociliates

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Parasites of fishes are highly diverse and speciose, and all major parasitic phyla are represented. Some species are considered highly important for fisheries and aquaculture. Despite this, many species are under- described, or even unknown. Advances in genomic and molecular technologies present an opportunity to develop a more robust understanding of fish host–parasite relationships, as well as the evolutionary relationships of parasite groups. With the advent of new technologies, there  is an opportunity to develop deeper and broader insights into these parasites. This Special Issue is open to all studies employing genomic techniques to advance the understanding of fish parasites.

Dr. Nathan J. Bott
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • parasites
  • fish
  • genomics
  • platyhelminths
  • myxosporean
  • nematoda
  • crustacea
  • protista

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1126 KiB  
Article
Mitochondrial Genomes of the Blood Flukes Cardicola forsteri and Cardicola orientalis (Trematoda: Aporocotylidae)
by Jemma Hudson, Sunita B. Sumanam, Bronwyn E. Campbell, Lachlan Coff, Barbara F. Nowak, Paul A. Ramsland, Neil D. Young and Nathan J. Bott
Pathogens 2025, 14(7), 680; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14070680 - 10 Jul 2025
Viewed by 353
Abstract
Parasitic diseases can be a significant constraint on aquaculture industries, which continue to develop in response to the rise in global demand for sustainable protein sources. Blood flukes, Cardicola forsteri and Cardicola orientalis, are economically significant parasites of Southern bluefin tuna (Australia), [...] Read more.
Parasitic diseases can be a significant constraint on aquaculture industries, which continue to develop in response to the rise in global demand for sustainable protein sources. Blood flukes, Cardicola forsteri and Cardicola orientalis, are economically significant parasites of Southern bluefin tuna (Australia), Pacific bluefin tuna (Japan), and Atlantic bluefin tuna (Mediterranean) as they are responsible for blood vessel obstruction in the gills leading to branchitis and mortalities when untreated. Here, we have defined the mitochondrial genomes for these species—the first for any aporocotylids. Oxford nanopore long-read sequencing was used to sequence C. orientalis from a single individual. The mitochondrial genome of C. forsteri was assembled and curated from available sequence data. Both Cardicola spp. mitogenomes contained 12 protein coding, 2 ribosomal and 22 tRNA genes, with the gene order matching that of Asian schistosomes. A control region was identified for each species which contained long and short repeats; the region for C. forsteri was longest, and the overall pattern differed between the two species. A surprisingly high nucleotide diversity was observed between the two species, generating interest into the mitochondrial genes of related species. This paper provides a useful resource for future genetics-based research of aporocotylids and other flatworm parasites of socioeconomic significance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomic Insights into Parasites of Fishes)
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