The African freshwater fish of Cichlidae are parasitized by five genera of monogeneans belonging to Dactylogyridea. Ectoparasitic Scutogyrus, Onchobdella, and the highly diversified Cichlidogyrus represent three genera located on the gills, while the endoparasitic Enterogyrus and Urogyrus are located in the stomach and the urinary bladder, respectively. Representatives of four dactylogyridean genera (except for Urogyrus) were collected from seven cichlid species in West Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the phylogenetic relationships between ectoparasitic and endoparasitic dactylogyridaen monogeneans specific to African freshwater Cichlidae and other representatives of Dactylogyridae, including a wide range of species from both freshwater and marine environments. All phylogenetic analyses point to the polyphyletic origin of the subfamily Ancyrocephalinae. Both Enterogyrus and Onchobdella were found to be monophyletic. The phylogenetic position of Scutogyrus longicornis was placed within the Cichlidogyrus species, which suggests the non-monophyly of Cichlidogyrus. Therefore, we have proposed a taxonomical revision of the species recently considered to be Scutogyrus. However, these four dactylogyridean genera-specific to cichlids do not form a monophyletic group. Using LSU rDNA analyses, we found that Enterogyrus and Onchobdella form a clade with Protogyrodactylus, i.e., the parasite species does not live in cichlids, which suggests that endoparasitism in cichlid monogeneans is not an ancestral feature.

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

J Parasitol. 2001 Apr;87(2):392-4 PubMed

Syst Parasitol. 2003 Nov;56(3):201-10 PubMed

Syst Parasitol. 2003 Jan;54(1):1-11 PubMed

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2007 Aug;44(2):530-44 PubMed

Parasitology. 2006 Jul;133(Pt 1):43-53 PubMed

Bioinformatics. 2003 Aug 12;19(12):1572-4 PubMed

Int J Parasitol. 2002 Mar;32(3):245-54 PubMed

Evolution. 1985 Jul;39(4):783-791 PubMed

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2006 Jan;38(1):241-9 PubMed

Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Apr 25;12(8):3563-83 PubMed

Bioinformatics. 1998;14(9):817-8 PubMed

Nucleic Acids Res. 1994 Nov 11;22(22):4673-80 PubMed

J Parasitol. 1989 Apr;75(2):207-11 PubMed

All quiet on the western front? The evolutionary history of monogeneans (Dactylogyridae: Cichlidogyrus, Onchobdella) infecting a West and Central African tribe of cichlid fishes (Chromidotilapiini)

Monogenean parasites from the stomach of Oreochromis mossambicus from South Africa: two new species of Enterogyrus (Dactylogyridae: Ancyrocephalinae)

Six new dactylogyrid species (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei, Cichliformes) from the Lower Congo Basin

A phylogeny of Cichlidogyrus spp. (Monogenea, Dactylogyridea) clarifies a host-switch between fish families and reveals an adaptive component to attachment organ morphology of this parasite genus

Molecular phylogeny of Neotropical monogeneans (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) from catfishes (Siluriformes)

Evolution of host specificity in monogeneans parasitizing African cichlid fish

Two new species of Cichlidogyrus (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasitizing the gills of African cichlid fishes (Perciformes) from Senegal: morphometric and molecular characterization

Monogeneans of West African cichlid fish: evolution and cophylogenetic interactions

See more in PubMed

GENBANK
HQ010021, HQ010022, HQ010023, HQ010024, HQ010025, HQ010026, HQ010027, HQ010028, HQ010029, HQ010030, HQ010031, HQ010032, HQ010033, HQ010034, HQ010035, HQ010036, HQ010037, HQ010038, HQ010039