Identification of Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (Blumenbach, 1978) from Southern Italy

• Published in: Veterinary sciences Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 194
• Main Authors: Cammilleri, Gaetano, D'Amelio, Stefano, Ferrantelli, Vincenzo, Costa, Antonella, Buscemi, Maria Drussilla, Castello, Annamaria, Bacchi, Emanuela, Goffredo, Elisa, Mancini, Maria Emanuela, Cavallero, Serena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04-03-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Adults; Anisakidae; Coasts; Communication; Contracaecum; Contracaecum rudolphii; Cytochrome; Morphology; Necropsy; Nematodes; Parasites; PCR-RFLP; Phalacrocorax carbo; Polymerase chain reaction; Restriction fragment length polymorphism; Rivers; South Mediterranean; Viscera; Poland; Italy; Netherlands; United States > US; Germany; Spain; Anisakidae; South Mediterranean; PCR-RFLP; Contracaecum
• ISSN: 2306-7381; 2306-7381
• DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10030194

In this study, four dead great cormorant
(Blumenbach, 1978) specimens, collected from the coasts and lakes of Southern Italy, were examined by necropsy for the detection of
sp. The adults and larvae found were subjected to morphological analysis and molecular identification by PCR-RFLP. A total of 181
specimens were detected in all of the four great cormorants examined (prevalence = 100%), showing an intensity of infestation between nine and ninety-two. A co-infestation by adult and larval forms of
was found only in one of the great cormorants examined. Following molecular investigations, 48 specimens of
A and 38 specimens of
B were detected, revealing co-infestation solely for the great cormorant from Leporano Bay (Southern Italy). Our results showed an opposite ratio between
A and
B in Pantelleria and in Salso Lake (Southern Italy) compared to what was reported in the literature, probably due to migratory stopovers and the ecology of the infested fish species, confirming the role of
nematodes as ecological tags of their hosts.