Diversity and Universality of Endosymbiotic in the Fish Parasite .

Although the presence of endosymbiotic rickettsial bacteria, specifically Megaira, has been reported in diverse habitats and a wide range of eukaryotic hosts, it remains unclear how broadly Megaira are distributed in a single host species. In this study we seek to address whether Megaira are present in most, if not all isolates, of the parasitic ciliate . Conserved regions of bacterial 16S rRNA genes were either PCR amplified, or assembled from deep sequencing data, from 18 isolates/populations of sampled worldwide (Brazil, Taiwan, and USA).

Molecular genetic diversity and characterization of conjugation genes in the fish parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is the etiologic agent of "white spot", a commercially important disease of freshwater fish. As a parasitic ciliate, I. multifiliis infects numerous host species across a broad geographic range.