Sinuolinea niloticus n. sp., a myxozoan parasite that causes disease in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Sinuolinea species are myxozoans of the order Bivalvulida, suborder Variisporina, and family Sinuolineidae, which can be parasites for freshwater and marine fish. The aim of this study was to describe the occurrence of Sinuolinea niloticus n. sp. infecting Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from aquaculture and from river sources with morphological and molecular analyses. Between March 2010 and November 2012, 116 Nile tilapia were randomly sampled from aquaculture net fishing (n = 56) in Mira Estrela, São Paulo, and from the Capivari River (n = 60) in Botucatu, São Paulo. The fishes that were sampled were examined by necropsy, microscopic observation and molecular techniques for detection and identification of the myxozoan causing disease in tilapia. All of the tissues that were sampled for analysis showed the presence of the parasite. It was observed by microscopy that the myxozoan belongs to the Sinuolinea genus. This identification was performed based on morphological characteristics and histopathology findings, such as structures consistent with myxozoan in the interstices in all analysed tissues, coagulative necrosis, haemorrhage, inflammatory processes, presence of melano-macrophages and eosinophils. The results of the molecular analyses revealed that the myxozoan detected and identified in this study is sister to a group of other Sinuolinea species. Because this is the first report of this parasite in Nile tilapia, the parasite was named S. niloticus n. sp. This is the first report of a Sinuolinea species in Brazil and in tilapia.