Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Hematodinium perezi (Dinophyceae: Syndiniales), a Dinoflagellate Parasite of the Harbour Crab, Liocarcinus depurator

Hematodinium perezi Chatton and Poisson 1931 (Dinophyceae: Syndiniales) is reported from one of its type hosts, Liocarcinus depurator, from Rye Bay in the English Channel, a site in a similar geographical location to that of the type description. The histology and ultrastructure of vegetative trophont stages, and rDNA sequences of the parasite infecting this host are reported for the first time. Ultrastructurally, H. perezi was confirmed by the presence of condensed chromatin profiles, trichocysts, an alveolar membrane, and micropores. The pathology of H. perezi was similar to other Hematodinium descriptions with large numbers of parasites present within the haemolymph and host tissues. No host responses against the parasite were observed. Molecular analysis of the ITS rRNA regions from H. perezi infecting L. depurator suggests that Callinectes sapidus from the United States, and Portunus trituberculatus and Scylla serrata from China are infected with different genotypes of H. perezi. The morphological and molecular characterization of H. perezi in one of the type hosts from Europe will allow for a better understanding of the phylogeny of these pathogens of commercially important Crustacea.