First elucidation of a didymozoid life cycle: Saccularina magnacetabula n. gen. n. sp. infecting an arcid bivalve

The first first-intermediate host for a species of Didymozoidae (Trematoda: Hemiuroidea), a bivalve of the family Arcidae, is identified using multi-loci molecular data. First intermediate, (likely) third intermediate, and adult stages of a new didymozoid taxon (Saccularina magnacetabula n. gen. n. sp.) from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia were collected from the Sydney cockle Anadara trapezia (Deshayes) (Arcoidea: Arcidae), Sillago sp. (Sillaginidae) and Elops hawaiensis Regan (Elopiformes: Elopidae), respectively, and genetically matched. Infections in A. trapezia were present as sporocysts and cystophorous cercariae, and infected tissue at the base of the gills. Morphologically, S. magnacetabula is distinctive relative to all other didymozoids in the combination of hermaphroditism, mate-pairing, filiform body shape, the presence of a ventral sucker, a single testis, and a saccular excretory vesicle at the posterior extremity. Molecular sequence data were generated for S. magnacetabula and 42 other putative didymozoid species to explore relationships within the Didymozoidae and Hemiuroidea. In molecular phylogenetic analyses of the 28S rDNA region, the new genus forms a clade with an undescribed taxon from the redthroat emperor, Lethrinus miniatus (Bloch & Schneider) (Perciformes: Lethrinidae), from the Great Barrier Reef, and another uncharacterised taxon from E. hawaiensis. This clade is sister to a moderately wellsupported clade comprising all other didymozoid species for which sequences are available, including representatives of five of the six presently recognised subfamilies. The infection of a bivalve by a didymozoid is discussed in the context of the overwhelming use of gastropod molluscs as first intermediate hosts by the Hemiuroidea. (C) 2022 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The first intermediate host for a species of Didymozoidae (Trematoda: Hemiuroidea), a bivalve from the family Arcidae, was identified using multi-loci molecular data. The study examined different stages of a new didymozoid taxon and compared their genetic information. The findings provide insights into the relationships within Didymozoidae and Hemiuroidea, as well as the infection of bivalves as intermediate hosts.