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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1539446

Effect of ectoparasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis on the histopathology and gill and gut microbiota of goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Provisionally accepted
Xialian Bu Xialian Bu 1Xianqi Peng Xianqi Peng 1Lei Huang Lei Huang 1Yu Zhao Yu Zhao 2Jinbiao Jiao Jinbiao Jiao 1Jian Zhu Jian Zhu 2Jing Chen Jing Chen 1Xiaohong Huang Xiaohong Huang 1Aqin Zheng Aqin Zheng 1Huantao Qu Huantao Qu 2Jiayun Yao Jiayun Yao 1*
  • 1 Zhejiang Institute of Freshwater Fisheries, Huzhou, China
  • 2 Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute, Three Gorges Corporation, Yichang, Hubei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The ectoparasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, is the pathogen of white spot disease in freshwater fish, which parasitizes on gills, fins, and skins of fish, causing tissue damage and death of host. However, whether it influences gill and gut microbiota is still unknow. In this study, gill and gut microbiota combined with tissue histopathological characteristics were analyzed in I. multifiliis-infected and uninfected goldfish (Carassius auratus). Histopathological examination revealed that I. multifiliis has induced significant damage to the gills of goldfish, characterized by lamellae fusion, cell hyperplasia, cell hyperaemia, inflammatory infiltration, necrosis and desquamation.16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing result showed that alpha and beta diversity of gill microbiota was significantly reduced in the I. multifiliis-infected group, while the alpha and beta diversity of gut microbiota had no significant changes between infected and control group. Genus Candidatus Megaira exhibited the highest relative abundance in the I. multifiliis-infected group, which may originate from within I. multifiliis cells.Achromobacter in the intestines of goldfish were associated with the I. multifiliis infection. In summary, I. multifiliis infection has caused histopathological damage to the gills of goldfish and induced the changes of gill and gut microbiota. This study laid a foundation for further research on the interaction between I. multifiliis and host microbiota

    Keywords: Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, microbiota, histopathology, Opportunistic pathogens, ectoparasite

    Received: 04 Dec 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Bu, Peng, Huang, Zhao, Jiao, Zhu, Chen, Huang, Zheng, Qu and Yao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jiayun Yao, Zhejiang Institute of Freshwater Fisheries, Huzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.