DAO prepress abstract   -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03758

ABSTRACT: The protozoan parasite Perkinsus olseni has become the focus of attention since it has been responsible for mass mortalities and economic losses in a wide range of bivalve hosts globally. P. olseni host range along the south coast of Korea may extend beyond what was previously understood and suggests blood cockles in the Family Arcidae as potential hosts of P. olseni. In the present study, we applied histology and molecular techniques to identify Perkinsus sp. infections in the blood cockles Tegillarca granosa, which have been commercially exploited on the south coast of Korea for several decades. Histology and molecular techniques, including genus-specific immunofluorescence assay (IFA), species-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and phylogeny based on ITS rDNA revealed that T. granosa is infected by P. olseni, although the prevalence was low (0.5%). Histology revealed massive hemocyte infiltrations in the mantle, gill, and digestive gland connective tissues, indicating that the infection exerts negative impacts on the host cockles.