Nematode parasites of commercially important fish from the southeast coast of Brazil: Morphological and genetic insight.

Studies of nematofauna of teleost fish from the Brazilian coast are relatively scarce and limited to identification based on morphology. The objective of the present study was to determine the diversity and prevalence of nematode parasites in teleost fish from the southeast Atlantic coast of Rio de Janeiro, through morphological, molecular, and ecological approaches. Parasites were collected from sixty specimens each of Genypterus brasiliensis, Micropogonias furnieri, and Mullus argentinae obtained in winters and summers of 2012–2014. Morphological and genetic characterization was conducted using light microscopy and the molecular targets 18S rDNA, ITS1, and mtDNA cox2. Nematodes identified in M. furnieri were Cucculanus genypteri (n = 1575, P = 98.3%) and Hysterothylacium deardorffoverstreetorum (s.l.) (n = 2, P = 3.3%); in G. brasiliensis were Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) sciaenidicola (n = 99, P = 33.3%), Cucculanus pulcherrimus (n = 45, P = 18.3%), Hysterothylacium deardorffoverstreetorum (s.l.) (n = 3, P = 5%), and Anisakis typica (n = 1, P = 1.7%); and, in M. argentinae, were H. deardorffoverstreetorum (s.l.) (n = 146, P = 48.3%), and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus (n = 4, P = 6.7%). DNA sequence data of C. genypteri, C. pulcherrimus, D. (C.) sciaenidicola, and P. (S.) halitrophus were reported for the first time. New host records are M. argentinae for P. (S.) halitrophus, M. furnieri for A. typica, while H. deardorffoverstreetorum (s.l.) was found in all three fish species. Intestine showed significantly higher intensity than other sites, and no significant seasonal variation in parasitological indices was observed. Hysterothylacium specimens (n = 6) were found in fish muscle, potentially a public health concern.