Detection of Perkinsus marinus in a wild population of the horsemussel Modiolus capax from the southwestern Gulf of California

Abstract

Background. After its transfaunation from the Atlantic Ocean has been reported, the protozoan Perkinsus marinus has expanded its list of hosts in several species of mollusks in the Pacific Ocean, both in cultivation and in wild populations. Goals. The presence of this parasite was evaluated in the horsemussel Modiolus capax, in the southwestern Gulf of California. Methods. 60 mussels were collected per annual season for one year (summer, autumn, winter 2019-spring 2020, N = 240), in the mining port of Santa Rosalía (SR), Baja California Sur, Mexico. Thioglycollate staining was used to detect presumptive hypnospores and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for its confirmation. The prevalence, parasite load and intensity of infection were obtained in each sampling. Results. Presumptive hypnospores of the parasite were detected with thioglycollate staining in almost 20% of the samples analyzed, of which only 5% were positive for confirmation with PCR. Neither the prevalence (6.66-33.33%) nor the parasite load (˂ 2.75 hypnospores/g) showed a tendency to increase with time; the intensity of infection ranged from negative to light. Salinity showed correlation with parasite load (r = 0.99, p = 0.002). Conclusions. The results suggest that M. capax in SR presented low susceptibility to the parasite, so its health is not compromised when hosting P. marinus. Although it is the first report of the protozoan in this mussel, continuous monitoring is recommended to know not only the health status of the bivalve in the region, but also of the other species of mollusks that inhabit there.