Andreou D., Arkush K. D., Guégan Jean-François, Gozlan R. E. (2012). Introduced pathogens and native freshwater biodiversity : a case study of Sphaerothecum destruens. Plos One, 7 (5), p. e36998. ISSN 1932-6203.
Titre du document
Introduced pathogens and native freshwater biodiversity : a case study of Sphaerothecum destruens
Andreou D., Arkush K. D., Guégan Jean-François, Gozlan R. E.
Source
Plos One, 2012,
7 (5), p. e36998 ISSN 1932-6203
A recent threat to European fish diversity was attributed to the association between an intracellular parasite, Sphaerothecum destruens, and a healthy freshwater fish carrier, the invasive Pseudorasbora parva originating from China. The pathogen was found to be responsible for the decline and local extinction of the European endangered cyprinid Leucaspius delineatus and high mortalities in stocks of Chinook and Atlantic salmon in the USA. Here, we show that the emerging S. destruens is also a threat to a wider range of freshwater fish than originally suspected such as bream, common carp, and roach. This is a true generalist as an analysis of susceptible hosts shows that S. destruens is not limited to a phylogenetically narrow host spectrum. This disease agent is a threat to fish biodiversity as it can amplify within multiple hosts and cause high mortalities.
