• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.271-274
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• 2010

Adult worms of Parvatrema spp. (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were found in the intestines of 2 species of migratory birds, i.e., a great knot, Calidris tenuirostris, and 2 Mongolian plovers, Charadrius mongolus, in the coastal area of Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do in October 2009. The recovered Parvatrema worms were 79 in total number and composed of 2 species. The worms from a great knot were $289{\mu}m$ in length with the oral and ventral sucker ratio of 2:1. They had a single vitellarium, and their intrauterine eggs were $25.0{\times}17.5{\mu}m$ in size. These findings were compatible with P. duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974 (syn. P. timondavidi Bartoli, 1963). The worms recovered from the Mongolian plovers were smaller in length than P. duboisi and had 2 vitellaria. The oral and ventral sucker ratio was 2.5 : 1, and the eggs were $17.5{\times}8.8{\mu}m$ in size. These worms were assigned to be P. homoeotecnum James, 1964. This is the first report on the natural final hosts of Parvatrema spp. in Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.87-91
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• 2020

Gymnophallid metacercariae found in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum ('Banjirak' in Korean) from Gochang-gun, Jeollabuk-do, Korea were morphologically and molecularly confirmed to be Parvatrema duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974. The metacercariae were morphologically characterized by having a large oral sucker, small ventral sucker, genital pore some distance anterior to the ventral sucker, no ventral pit, and 1 compact or slightly lobed vitellarium, which were all compatible with P. duboisi. Some of the metacercariae were experimentally fed to mice, and adult flukes were recovered at day 7 post-infection. The morphology of the adult flukes was basically the same as that of the metacercariae except for the presence of uterine eggs; the uterus was filled with up to 40 eggs. The nucleotide sequences (1,193 bp) from ITS regions (ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2) of the metacercariae showed 99.7% identity with P. duboisi and 75.7% identity with Gymnophalloides seoi deposited in GenBank. These results confirmed the presence of P. duboisi metacercariae in the Manila clam R. philippinarum in an estuary region of Gochang-gun, Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 2021

Life cycle stages, including daughter sporocysts, cercariae, and metacercariae, of Parvatrema duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974 (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) have been found in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum from Aphae-do (Island), Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea. The daughter sporocysts were elongated sac-like and 307-570 (av. 395) ㎛ long and 101-213 (av. 157) ㎛ wide. Most of the daughter sporocysts contained 15-20 furcocercous cercariae each. The cercariae measured 112-146 (av. 134) ㎛ in total length and 35-46 (av. 40) ㎛ in width, with 69-92 (av. 85) ㎛ long body and 39-54 (av. 49) ㎛ long tail. The metacercariae were 210-250 (av. 231) ㎛ in length and 170-195 (av. 185) ㎛ in width, and characterized by having a large oral sucker, genital pore some distance anterior to the ventral sucker, no ventral pit, and 1 compact or slightly lobed vitellarium, strongly suggesting P. duboisi. The metacercariae were experimentally infected to ICR mice, and adults were recovered at day 7 post-infection. The adult flukes were morphologically similar to the metacercariae except in the presence of up to 20 eggs in the uterus. The daughter sporocysts and metacercariae were molecularly (ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2) analyzed to confirm the species, and the results showed 99.8-99.9% identity with P. duboisi reported from Kyushu, Japan and Gochang, Korea. These results confirmed the presence of various life cycle stages of P. duboisi in the Manila clam, R. philippinarum, playing the role of the first as well as the second intermediate host, on Aphae-do (Island), Shinan-gun, Korea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.365-370
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• 2021

Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum is present at high rates of density in tidal flats in Cheonsu Bay on the west coast of Korea, where clams often exhibit mass mortalities in late summer. We monitored the pathologic condition of clams at Hwangdo tidal flat (HD) to understand the parasitic impacts on clam fitness. Manila clams were fully ripe in July and spawned during August and September, as the histology indicated. The histology revealed that clams in HD tidal flats were heavily infected by the protozoa parasite Perkinsus olseni, as the monthly prevalence ranged from 53% (September) to 93% (August). In addition, Manila clams were co-infected by the metazoan parasite Cercaria tapetis and Parvatrema duboisi with the prevalence of 0-33% and 0-14%, respectively. Massive hemocyte infiltration and subsequent inflammation were commonly observed from the gills of P. olseni infected clams. Clusters of P. olseni trophozoites and heavy hemocyte infiltration were also observed from the female gonad, suggesting that P. olseni interferes with host gonad maturation. The larval trematode occupied almost the entire host gonad, resulting in gonad castration. In addition, Metacercaria of P. duboisi were observed from the subsurface of the mantle. Ray's fluid thioglycollate medium assay (RFTM) indicated that clams collected in August and September contained approximately 4.0×106 P. olseni cells/g gills. Condition Index (CI) declined gradually from spring to early summer, and the decline in CI was interpreted as a consequence of the heavy parasitism, as the parasites drain the host's net energy to be used in somatic growth and gamete production.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.203-213
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• 2003

The present study was conducted to research some parastic trematodes species in marine bivalves which are widely distributed in the western sea in Korea. From April, 2001 to October, 2002, marsh calm (Corbicula japonica) were obtained from Kochang bay near the Sunun temple and razor calm (Sinonovaculla constricta) from Kaehwado. Short necked calm (Ruditapes philippnarum) were sampled from Ochungdo, Mardo and Kaeyado. Cercaria corbiculae was found in the gonad of C. japonica with a low infection rate of 0.83%. The cercaria and the sporocyst were sized $278{\times}98{\mu}$ and $890{\times}275{\mu}$, respectively. Some encysted larvae of Parvatrema duboisi sized $0.351{\times}0.182mm$ were firstly found in the mantle of S. constricta in Korea. Each S. constricta contained 1-9 cysts and the infection rate was 48.3%. Cercaria tapidis was found in the both gonad and mantle of R. philippinarum. The annual average infection rate in the R. philippinarum from Ochungdo was 7.7%. This rate was much higher than those from Solri near the Kum river estuary in 1981. The infection rate of C. tapidis in R. philippinarum was different in sizes. The maximum rate was 4.8% in size 3.6-4.0cm and the minimum rate 0.8% in size 4-5cm.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.457-460
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• 2011

Adults of Maritrema obstipum (Digenea: Microphallidae) were found in the intestines of 4 species of migratory birds, including the sanderling (Crocethia alba), Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrines), Mongolian plover (Charadrius mongolus), and red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis), collected from Yubu Island, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. The worms of were $451{\times}265{\mu}m$ in size, and were easily identifiable as Maritrema species by the presence of the cirrus sac, and the ring-like distribution of the vitellaria. More specifically, the ejaculatory duct curved posteromedially, and the 2 parts of vitelline follicles were found to be distinct at the posterior end. The eggs were brown-colored, and $19.8{\times}12.3{\mu}m$ in size. All these findings implicated M. obstipum as the pertinent species of the worms. Beside these, adult worms of Gynaecotyla squatarolae, Parvatrema duboisi, and Acanthoparyphium sp. were also discovered. This is the first report establishing migratory birds as the natural definitive hosts for M. obstipum.