Cargando…

Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Copepods of the genus Pennella are parasites of marine aquatic organisms (e.g., cephalopods, pelagic fish, cetaceans). They can infest fish of economic interest, including tuna and swordfish. The infestation of Pennella sp. in fish creates problems of food safety and fish marketing....

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Mugetti, Davide, Colombino, Elena, Menconi, Vasco, Garibaldi, Fulvio, Mignone, Walter, Gustinelli, Andrea, Prearo, Marino, Guarda, Franco, Capucchio, Maria Teresa
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8231167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34208384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11061757
_version_ 1783713368184455168
author Mugetti, Davide
Colombino, Elena
Menconi, Vasco
Garibaldi, Fulvio
Mignone, Walter
Gustinelli, Andrea
Prearo, Marino
Guarda, Franco
Capucchio, Maria Teresa
author_facet Mugetti, Davide
Colombino, Elena
Menconi, Vasco
Garibaldi, Fulvio
Mignone, Walter
Gustinelli, Andrea
Prearo, Marino
Guarda, Franco
Capucchio, Maria Teresa
author_sort Mugetti, Davide
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Copepods of the genus Pennella are parasites of marine aquatic organisms (e.g., cephalopods, pelagic fish, cetaceans). They can infest fish of economic interest, including tuna and swordfish. The infestation of Pennella sp. in fish creates problems of food safety and fish marketing. Generally, these copepods penetrate the host’s muscle, without damaging internal organs. Here, we report on Pennella sp. infestation in swordfish heart muscle. The severity of the cardiac lesions we observed suggests that parasites of the genus Pennella pose a concern for food safety as well as animal health. ABSTRACT: The genus Pennella comprises hematophagous parasites of marine aquatic species, including cephalopods, marine mammals, and pelagic fish. Nine species have been officially included in the genus Pennella plus another six species inquirendae. They are most often found in the host’s musculature, without penetrating internal organs. For the present study, 83 hearts from swordfish (Xiphias gladius) caught in the Mediterranean Sea were sampled and immediately fixed in formalin for histopathological analysis. In total, 10 (12.05%) hearts were found to be parasitized by copepods of the genus Pennella. Macroscopically, there was mild-to-severe fibrinous pericarditis with atrial wall thickening and multiple parasitic nodules. Histologically, the parasitic nodules were surrounded by an inflammatory-necrotizing reaction. Parasitic infestation by Pennella spp. is common in pelagic fish and in swordfish, in particular. Here, however, we report atypical cardiac localization. A future area of focus is the evaluation of cardiac Pennella spp. infestation by histopathology and genetic identification of the parasites.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8231167
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-82311672021-06-26 Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts Mugetti, Davide Colombino, Elena Menconi, Vasco Garibaldi, Fulvio Mignone, Walter Gustinelli, Andrea Prearo, Marino Guarda, Franco Capucchio, Maria Teresa Animals (Basel) Communication SIMPLE SUMMARY: Copepods of the genus Pennella are parasites of marine aquatic organisms (e.g., cephalopods, pelagic fish, cetaceans). They can infest fish of economic interest, including tuna and swordfish. The infestation of Pennella sp. in fish creates problems of food safety and fish marketing. Generally, these copepods penetrate the host’s muscle, without damaging internal organs. Here, we report on Pennella sp. infestation in swordfish heart muscle. The severity of the cardiac lesions we observed suggests that parasites of the genus Pennella pose a concern for food safety as well as animal health. ABSTRACT: The genus Pennella comprises hematophagous parasites of marine aquatic species, including cephalopods, marine mammals, and pelagic fish. Nine species have been officially included in the genus Pennella plus another six species inquirendae. They are most often found in the host’s musculature, without penetrating internal organs. For the present study, 83 hearts from swordfish (Xiphias gladius) caught in the Mediterranean Sea were sampled and immediately fixed in formalin for histopathological analysis. In total, 10 (12.05%) hearts were found to be parasitized by copepods of the genus Pennella. Macroscopically, there was mild-to-severe fibrinous pericarditis with atrial wall thickening and multiple parasitic nodules. Histologically, the parasitic nodules were surrounded by an inflammatory-necrotizing reaction. Parasitic infestation by Pennella spp. is common in pelagic fish and in swordfish, in particular. Here, however, we report atypical cardiac localization. A future area of focus is the evaluation of cardiac Pennella spp. infestation by histopathology and genetic identification of the parasites. MDPI 2021-06-11 /pmc/articles/PMC8231167/ /pubmed/34208384 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11061757 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Communication
Mugetti, Davide
Colombino, Elena
Menconi, Vasco
Garibaldi, Fulvio
Mignone, Walter
Gustinelli, Andrea
Prearo, Marino
Guarda, Franco
Capucchio, Maria Teresa
Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title_full Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title_fullStr Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title_full_unstemmed Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title_short Unusual Localization of Pennella Sp. in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Hearts
title_sort unusual localization of pennella sp. in swordfish (xiphias gladius) hearts
topic Communication
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8231167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34208384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11061757
work_keys_str_mv AT mugettidavide unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT colombinoelena unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT menconivasco unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT garibaldifulvio unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT mignonewalter unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT gustinelliandrea unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT prearomarino unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT guardafranco unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts
AT capucchiomariateresa unusuallocalizationofpennellaspinswordfishxiphiasgladiushearts