Experimental detection of the actinospores of Myxobolus pseudodispar (Myxosporea: Myxobolidae) in oligochaete alternate hosts.

The development of Myxobolus pseudodispar Gorbunova, 1936, an intracellular myxosporean muscle parasite of the roach Rutilus rutilus L., was studied in experimentally infected oligochaetes. In one experiment, uninfected Tubifex tubifex Müller and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (Claparéde) were exposed to mature spores of M. pseudodispar. Triactinomyxon spores developed both in T. tubifex and L. hoffmeisteri specimens. Triactinospores were first released from the oligochaetes 76 d after initial exposure. At that time, pansporocysts containing 8 triactinospores were located in the gut epithelium of experimentally infected oligochaetes, but free actinosporean stages were also found in their gut lumen. Each triactinospore had 3 pyriform polar capsules and an elongated cylindrical sporoplasm with 8 secondary cells. The spore body joined the 3 caudal projections with a relatively long style. One of the 3 caudal projections was shorter than the other two. The total length of the triactinospore was on average 206.5 microns.