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. 2023 Apr 15;100(3):307–323. doi: 10.1007/s11230-023-10089-1

Synopsis of the aurantiactinomyxon collective group (Cnidaria, Myxozoa), with a discussion on the validity of morphotype definition and demise of guyenotia

Sónia Rocha 1,2,
PMCID: PMC10129985  PMID: 37060426

Abstract

Aurantiactinomyxon is one of the most diverse myxozoan collective groups, comprising types that mostly infect freshwater and marine oligochaetes belonging to the family Naididae Ehrenberg, 1828, but also Lumbriculidae Claus, 1872. In this study, a comprehensive revision of all known aurantiactinomyxon types is performed and highlights the fallibility of using the form and length of the valvular processes as main criterion for differentiating among style-less actinospore morphotypes. The demise of the guyenotia collective group is proposed based on the ambiguous features of several types that allow conformity with both the aurantiactinomyxon and guyenotia definitions. Nonetheless, the information presently available clearly shows that a general shift is needed in our approach to actinospore grouping, which should probably be based on actinospore functionality relative to environment and host ecology, rather than on morphology. Life cycle studies based on experimental transmission and molecular inferences of the 18S rDNA have linked aurantiactinomyxon (including former guyenotia) to myxozoans belonging to a diverse array of genera, including Chloromyxum, Henneguya, Hoferellus, Myxobolus, Paramyxidium, Thelohanellus and Zschokkella. This undoubtedly shows a high capacity of the aurantiactinomyxon morphotype to promote infection in intrinsically distinct vertebrate hosts and environmental habitats, consequently increasing interest in its study for attaining a better understanding of myxozoan-host interactions. The identification of novel and known types, however, is impeded by the lack of concise information allowing a comprehensive analysis of biological, morphological, and molecular criteria. In this sense, the compilation of data presented in this study will ultimately help researchers seeking to perform reliable identifications.

Introduction

Infections of aquatic oligochaetes by actinospores were first reported by Štolc (1899), who created the Actinomyxidia to encompass hexactinomyxon, synactinomyxon and triactinomyxon types that the author found infecting tubificids in Czechia. Over time, recognition of the homology between these organisms and myxozoans, led to the relocation of Actinomyxidia to the phylum Myxozoa Grassé, 1970, which became divided into the classes Myxosporea Bütschli 1881 (fish parasites producing myxospores) and Actinosporea Noble, 1980 (worm parasites producing actinospores). In 1984, the ground-breaking discovery that Myxobolus cerebralis Hofer, 1903 develops triactinomyxon actinospores in the gut epithelium of the oligochaete Tubifex tubifex (Müller) (Wolf & Markiw, 1984), showed that myxozoan life cycles comprise both myxospore and actinospore phases, with members of the classes Myxosporea and Actinosporea representing morphologically distinct phases of the same species. This led to a major taxonomic revision, with Kent et al. (1994) proposing the demise of the class Actinosporea, and the use of its generic names as vernacular designations for actinospore morphotypes established within distinct collective groups.

Currently, there are ca. 20 valid actinospore collective groups (Lom & Dyková, 2006; Rangel et al., 2011; Milanin et al., 2017; Atkinson et al., 2019; Rocha et al., 2019a, 2019b, 2020), with aurantiactinomyxon being one of the most diverse. This collective group was first described by Janiszewska (1957), who defined its actinospores having a style-less epispore, with three equal processes that curve downwards and embrace with their whole base the epispore cavity. Lom & Dyková (2006) updated the definition, and described aurantiactinomyxon as having three stout, semicircularly curved, leaf-like valvular processes attached to an ellipsoidal body with protruding polar capsules at the apex and containing a sporoplasm with many secondary cells. To date, 61 aurantiactinomyxon types have been reported based on these definitions (Table 1), with differentiation between types mostly relying on morphometric comparisons. Molecular data of the 18S rDNA is available for only 20 types. Another eight 18S rDNA sequences are available in GenBank but constitute unpublished submissions to the NCBI database; while the sequences with GenBank accession numbers MN294775 and MN294776 appear identified as aurantiactinomyxon in the database but have been published as belonging to the presently demised echinactinomyxon collective group (see Rocha et al., 2019a; Gao et al., 2021).

Table 1.

Summary of data available for aurantiactinomyxon types (including former guyenotia). SBL: actinospore body length; SBW: actinospore body width; LVP: length of valvular processes; WVP: width of valvular processes; PCL: polar capsule length; PCW: polar capsule width; SCn: number of secondary cells; AV: apical view; SV: side view; n.d.: not provided; ET: experimental transmission; MI: molecular inference. Measurements are means ± SD (range) (when available), given in µm.

Aurantiactinomyxon type/myxosporean species Host Location SBL SBW LVP WVP PCL PCW SCn GenBank accession number Source
Aurantiactinomyxon raabei junioris Janiszewska, 1957 Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède Poland: River Ropa 17 17 25–30 16 Janiszewska 1957
Limnodrilus sp.; Tubifex sp. France: Villeneuve de la Raho, Latour-Bas-Elne, Bages, Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales 17 17 25–35 11–15 16 Marques, 1984
Aurantiactinomyxon pavinsis (Ormierès, 1968) Marques, 1984/Chloromyxum truttae (Léger, 1906)/MI Stylodrylus heringianus Claparède France: Besse-en-Chandesse

10

(9–11)

10

(9–11)

12

(10–14)

3.0 (2.5–3.5) 2.0 (1.5–2.5) 12 Ormières, 1968
Stylodrylus heringianus Claparède France: Couze Pavin 8–12 8–12 10–20 6–8 16 Marques, 1984
Tubifex sp. Germany: Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria 10.0 ± 1.0 10.0 ± 1.0 12.0 ± 2.0 3.0 ± 0.5 2.0 ± 0.5 12 Oumouna et al., 2003
Stylodrylus heringianus Claparède Scotland: highland freshwater system of the River Amhainnan Stratha Bhig 9.0 9.0 10.0 2.8 2.3 AJ582006 Holzer et al., 2004
Unidentified lumbriculid Italy: Sordo River 9.7 ± 0.5 9.7 ± 0.5 17.4 ± 1.4 7.7 ± 0.5 Marcucci et al.,2009
Aurantiactinomyxon stellans Marques, 1984 Unidentified tubificids France: Villeneuve de la Raho, Bages, Plaine du Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales 15–20 70–90 15–20 8–10 8–10 <16 Marques, 1984
Aurantiactinomyxon trifolium Marques, 1984 Unidentified tubificids France: Villeneuve de la Raho, Latour-Bas-Elne, Bages, Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales 20–25 20–25 40–50 17–20 32 Marques, 1984
Aurantiactinomyxon of Burtle et al., 1991/Henneguya ictaluri Pote, Hanson, & Shivaji, 2000/ET and MIa Dero digitata (Müller) USA: channel catfish pond 19.5 19.5 29.5 >32 Burtle et al., 1991;Bellerud et al., 1992, 1995; Pote et al., 1992, 2000; Styer et al., 1991, 1992

Dero digitata

(Müller)

USA: channel catfish pond, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

20.6 ± 1.1

(19.0–22.8)

21.8 ± 1.0

(20.9–22.8)

28.4 ± 1.6

(26.6–32.3)

9.9 ± 0.8 (9.5–11.4) 40–42 Bellerud, 1993

Dero digitata

(Müller)

USA: channel catfish pond, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

23.0

(20.0–24.0)

23.0

(20.0–24.0)

26.0

(21.0–32.0)

11.0 (8.0–12.0) Pote & Waterstrat, 1993
Dero digitata (Müller) USA: channel catfish pond, Sunflower County, Mississippi

20.9 ± 0.6

(20.1–22.3)

20.9 ± 0.6

(20.1–22.3)

27.7 ± 0.7

(26.3–28.9)

10.0 ± 0.4 (9.4–10.9) Rosser et al., 2014
Aurantiactinomyxon minor Styer et al., 1992 Dero digitata (Müller) USA: channel catfish pond 13–16 13–16 36 11 Styer et al., 1992
Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède Ireland: Cloonee river system

14.1 ± 1.3

(13.0–15.6)

14.1 ± 1.3

(13.0–15.6)

31.0 ± 3.7

(26.0–36.0)

10.6 ± 1.1 (9.1–13.0) 2.7 ± 0.2 (2.6–3.1) 2.7 ± 0.2 (2.6–3.1) ~12 Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Bartholomew et al., 1992 Nais bretscheri Michaelsen USA: experimental tanks Bartholomew et al., 1992
Aurantiactinomyxon of El-Matbouli et al., 1992/Hoferellus carassii Achmerov, 1960/ET Tubifex tubifex (Müller), Lophochaeta ignota Štolc, Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède ET using infected goldfish Carassius auratus El-Matbouli et al., 1992
Nais elinguis Müller Germany 23.5 ± 3.1 23.5 ± 3.1 48.8 ± 8.2 11.7 ± 1.5 –– 22 Trouillier et al., 1996
Aurantiactinomyxon of Grossheider & Korting, 1992/Hoferellus cyprini (Doflein, 1898) Berg, 1898 (syn. Mitraspora cyprini Fujita, 1912)/ETb Nais spp. Germany: ET using H. cyprini from common carp Cyprinus carpio ~12.7 ~12.7 ~31.1 ~6.9 ~6.9 Grossheider & Korting, 1992
Aurantiactinomyxon janiszewskai Bellerud, 1993/Henneguya exilis (Kudo, 1929)/MI Dero digitata (Müller) USA: Sunflower, Sunflower County, Mississippi

13.8 ± 1.1

(11.8–15.8)

11.8 ± 1.1

(9.9–13.8)

52.0 ± 9.9

(37.4–63.0)

5.9 ± 0.0 (5.9–5.9) 8 Bellerud, 1993
Dero digitata (Müller) USA: commercial catfish ponds, Mississippi Lin et al., 1999
Dero digitata (Müller) USA: commercial catfish pond, Sunflower County, Mississippi

11.7 ± 0.9

(10.2–13.3)

11.7 ± 0.9

(10.2–13.3)

42.5 ± 2.5

(37.6–46.2)

6.5 ± 0.9 (5.2–8.5) Rosser et al., 2014
Aurantiactinomyxon mississippiensis Bellerud, 1993/Henneguya mississippiensis Rosser et al., 2005/MI Dero digitata (Müller) USA: Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

14.2 ± 1.8

(n.d.–17.1)

13.6 ± 1.2

(9.9–13.8)

32.4 ± 3.3

(22.8–39.9)

7.3 ± 1.7 (3.8–11.4) 30 Bellerud, 1993
Dero digitata (Müller) USA: channel catfish pond AF021878 Hanson et al., 2001
Aurantiactinomyxon of Benajiba & Marques, 1993/Paramyxidium giardi (Cépède, 1906) Freeman & Kristmundsson, 2018/ET and MI Tubifex spp. France: ET using Paramyxidium giardi from European eel Anguilla anguilla Benajiba & Marques, 1993
Tubificoides pseudogaster (Dahl) Portugal: Minho River

14.4 ± 0.6

(13.6–15.9)

12.7 ± 0.7 (11.3–13.3) 22.4 ± 2.4 (18.1–27.6) 15.5 ± 0.9 (13.3–17.0) 2.6 ± 0.3 (1.9–3.5) 2.6 ± 0.3 (1.9–3.5) MK635346 Rocha et al., 2019c
Aurantiactinomyxon of Pote & Waterstrat, 1993 Dero digitata (Müller) USA: channel catfish pond, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi ~23.0 ~23.0 40 8 Pote & Waterstrat, 1993
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Yokoyama et al., 1993 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Japan: goldfish Carassius auratus pond 11 11 16 8 Yokoyama et al., 1993; Yokoyama, 1997
Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of Yokoyama et al., 1993/Thelohanellus hovorkai Achmerov, 1964/ET and MI Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Japan: goldfish Carassius auratus pond Yokoyama et al., 1993
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Japan: common carp Cyprinius carpio fry pond 18–22 18–22 25–33 2 2 32 Yokoyama, 1997
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: ET using Thelohanellus hovorkai from a C. carpio fish farm

18.6

(18.3–18.9)

18.6

(18.3–18.9)

29.0

(28.2–29.6)

9.2 (8.1–10.2) 3.42 (3.4–3.5) 3.36 (3.3–3.4) 32 Székely et al., 1998
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Japan AJ133419 Anderson et al., 2000
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Hallett et al., 1997 Pacifidrilus vanus (Erséus) Hong Kong Island 10.1 10.7 ~3.0 ~3.0 1.9 1.9 Hallett et al., 1997
Auratiactinomyxon type 2 of Hallett et al., 1997

Pacifidrilus darvelli (Erséus)

Limnodriloides toloensis Erséus

Hong Kong Island 9.4–12.5 11.6–14.0 2.5–3.0 2.5–3.0 −− Hallett et al., 1997
Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of Hallett et al., 1997 Pacifidrilus vanus (Erséus) Hong Kong Island 9.4–10.6 6.9–10.9 −− −− Hallett et al., 1997
Aurantiactinomyxon of McGeorge et al., 1997 Unidentified tubificid Scotland: Atlantic salmon Salmo salar hatchery

13.7

(12–15)

13.7

(12–15)

25.6

(19–31)

12.0 (10–14) 2.7 (2–3) 2.7 (2–3) McGeorge et al., 1997
Lumbriculus variegatus (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon Salmo salar hatchery Özer & Wootten, 2001
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 18.3 18.3 17.5 9.9 2.0 2.0 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 22.8 22.8 65.7 10.5 4.0 1.7 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 22.8 22.8 70.3 8.0 2.9 2.9 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 4 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 19.4 19.4 55.7 11.2 2.9 2.9 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 5 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 9.9 9.9 17.2 3.9 1.4 1.4 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 6 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Limnodrilus sp. Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 19.7 19.7 24.2 11.2 2.8 2.8 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 7 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Actinospores collected from water Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 18.9 18.9 24.4 9.5 2.8 2.5 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 8 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Limnodrilus sp. Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 22.6 22.6 12.2 9.0 1.4 1.4 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 9 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 18.8 18.8 51.3 9.5 2.3 2.3 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 10 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 15.5 15.5 16.7 8.8 1.7 1.7 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 11 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Actinospores collected from water Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 8.5 8.5 31.9 3.7 3.4 2.0 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 12 of El-Mansy et al., 1998a Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: polyculture fish farm south of Budapest 12.1 12.1 26.5 8.7 2.8 3.1 El-Mansy et al., 1998a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of El-Mansy et al., 1998b Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: Lake Balaton 18.8 18.8 51.3 9.5 2.3 2.3 El-Mansy et al., 1998b
Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of El-Mansy et al., 1998b Limnodrilus sp. Hungary: Lake Balaton 21.1 21.1 22.6 11.7 2.8 2.0 El-Mansy et al., 1998b
Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of El-Mansy et al., 1998b Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: Lake Balaton 9.9 9.9 17.2 3.9 1.4 1.4 El-Mansy et al., 1998b
Aurantiactinomyxon of Székely et al., 1998/Thelohanellus nikolskii Achmerov, 1955/ET and MI Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Hungary: ET using T. nikolskii from infected Cyprinus carpio in the Kis-Balaton reservoir

21.1

(21.0–21.2)

21.1

(21.0–21.2)

13.4

(11.3–15.5)

9.0 (8.5–9.6) 2.1 (2.0–2.2) 2.1 (2.0–2.2) 16 Székely et al., 1998
Nais sp. Hungary: Kis Balaton

10.3

(9.3–12.0)

10.3

(9.3–12.0)

14.6

(12.7–16.0)

6.5 (5.3–7.3) 3.3 2.6 8 DQ231156 Borkhanuddin, 2013; Borzák et al., 2021
Aurantiactinomyxon of Xiao & Desser, 1998 Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède Canada: Lake Sasajewun, Ontario

12.0

(11.5–13.8)

11.0

(10.0–12.5)

24.0

(21.0–26.0)

13.0–16.0 3.0 (2.7–3.4) 1.5 (1.4–1.7) 64–128 Xiao & Desser, 1998
Aurantiactinomyxon of Székely et al., 2000 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Spain: Mijares River, Province of Castellón

8.1

(7.3–8.9)

8.1

(7.3–8.9)

6.1

(4.8–7.3)

5.6 (4.8–6.5) 1.6 (1.5–1.7) 1.1 (1.0–1.1) 64 −− Székely et al., 2000
Aurantiactinomyxon of Kent et al., 2001 Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède Canada: Ontario AF378356 AF378356 Kent et al., 2001
Aurantiactinomyxon type A1 of Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001c Lophochaeta ignota Štolc Ireland: Cloonee river system

14.4 ± 1.3

(12.6–16.9)

14.4 ± 1.3

(12.6–16.9)

21.1 ± 1.0

(18.2–23.4)

16.1 ± 2.1 (13.0–19.5) 3.0 ± 0.3 (2.5–3.9) 3.0 ± 0.3 (2.5–3.9) 10 Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001
Lophochaeta ignota Štolc Ireland: Cloonee river system AF483598 Negredo et al., 2003
Aurantiactinomyxon type A3 of Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001 Lophochaeta ignota Štolc Ireland: Cloonee river system ~9.1 ~9.1

20.8 ± 1.8

(18.2–23.4)

10.4 ~10 ~ Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001
Aurantiactinomyxon of Hallett et al., 2002d Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Germany: Bavaria

19.4

(16.8–21.4)

19.4

(16.8–21.4)

37.3

(28.5–49.2)

15.7 (14.2–18.1) 3.1 (2.6–3.9) 3.1 (2.6–3.9) 30 AF487455 Hallett et al., 2002
Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Germany: Bavaria

19.7

(18.1–22.0)

19.7

(18.1–22.0)

87.7

(75.1–103.6)

13.1 (10.4–15.5) 3.1 3.1 30 AF487455 Hallett et al., 2002
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Özer et al., 2002 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm

14.4

(12.0–15.0)

14.4

(12.0–15.0)

32.0

(31.0–36.0)

14.8 (13.0–15.0) 2.7 (2.0–3.0) 2.7 (2.0–3.0) 64–128 Özer et al., 2002a
Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm 14.2 14.2 33.0 2.6 2.5 AJ582004 Holzer et al., 2004
Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of Özer et al., 2002 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm

14.9

(14.0–18.7)

14.9

(14.0–18.7)

24.8

(23.4–26.5)

15.3 (14.0–15.6) 2.5 (1.8–2.8) 2.5 (1.8–2.8) 64 Özer et al., 2002a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of Özer et al., 2002 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm

24.0

(23.4–24.9)

21.8

(20.8–23.4)

114.5

(101.4–124.8)

4.0 3.2 32 Özer et al., 2002a
Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm 21.1 19.3 114.0 4.0 3.5 AJ582005 Holzer et al., 2004
Aurantiactinomyxon type 4 of Özer et al., 2002 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: Atlantic salmon fish farm

11.9

(11.2–14.0)

11.9

(11.2–14.0)

28.3

(23.4–31.2)

11.9 (10.9–14.0) 2.5 (2.0–3.0) 2.5 (2.0–3.0) 32 Özer et al., 2002a
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Oumouna et al., 2003 Unidentified Gremany: trout fish farm, Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria 16.1 ± 1.0 16.1 ± 1.0 76.0 ± 1.0 5.0 ± 0.3 4.0 ± 0.2 Oumouna et al., 2003
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Székely et al., 2003 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Japan: Fuji Mountain at Honshu

13.5

(13.0–14.0)

13.5

(13.0–14.0)

12.4

(10.0–14.0)

13.5 (13.0–14.0) 2.0 1.0 8 Székely et al., 2003
Aurantiactinomyxon of Székely et al., 2004 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard South Africa: Rietvlei River

19.6

(18.1–21.8)

19.6

(18.1–21.8)

10.5

(9.9–17.4)

15.2 (13.3–18.7) 2.7 (2.6–2.9) 2.7 (2.6–2.9) 64 Székely et al., 2004
Aurantiactinomyxon type A of Eszterbauer et al., 2006/Thelohanellus hovorkai Achmerov, 1964/ET and MI Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: fish farm near Budapest

20.0

(18.0–22.0)

20.0

(18.0–22.0)

47.0

(37.0–58.0)

10.0 (8.0–12.0) 3.0 (2.0–3.3) 32 DQ231153 DQ231154 Eszterbauer et al., 2006
Aurantiactinomyxon type B of Eszterbauer et al., 2006d Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: fish farm near Budapest

18.0

(17.0–20.0)

18.0

(17.0–20.0)

24.0

(20.0–30.0)

9.8 (9.0–10.0) 2.5 (2.0–3.0) Eszterbauer et al., 2006
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: River Tisza

19.0

(18.0–21.0)

19.0

(18.0–21.0)

16.0

(14.0–20.0)

8.4 (7.0–10.6) 2.6 (2.0–4.1) DQ231148 Eszterbauer et al., 2006
Aurantiactinomyxon of Hallett et al., 2006/Myxobolus intimus Zaika, 1965/MI Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède Germany: pet shop in Munich

AV 13.8

(13.0–14.9)

SV 13.6

AV 13.8

(13.0–14.9)

SV 13.6

AV 17.7

(15.5–22.0)

SV 20.1

(18.1–22.0)

AV 10.7 (9.7–14.2) SV 10.4 3.1 2.3 16 AY495708 Hallett et al., 2006
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Hallett et al., 2006 Unidentified Germany: pet shop in Munich AV 12.0 (11.7–13.0) AV 12.0 (11.7–13.0) AV 26.6 (24.6–31.1) AV 10.1 (9.1–10.4) 2.3 3.0 16 Hallett et al., 2006
Aurantiactinomyxon of Morris & Freeman, 2010 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) Scotland: brown trout Salmo trutta fish farm 11.0 ± 1.0 11.0 ± 1.0

23.0 ± 4.0

(20.0–33.0)

11.0 ± 1.0 (11.0–13.0) ~16 Morris & Freeman, 2010
Aurantiactinomyxon of Xi et al., 2013 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: crucian carp pond, Jiangsu Province

AV 19.7

(18.9–21.1)

SV 20.3

(18.6–21.9)

AV 19.7

(18.9–21.1)

SV 19.6

(17.8–20.7)

170.8

(167.5–176.3)

12.9 (11.2–13.5) 3.1 (2.9–3.2) 1.7 (1.5–1.9) 64 HQ613406 Xi et al., 2013
Aurantiactinomyxon type JD of Xi et al., 2015 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: fish farm at Jiangsu Province 15.6

21.2

(17.1–24.0)

21.7

(20.0–24.4)

14.0 (11.2–16.4) 2.3 (2.0–2.8) 2.3 (2.0–2.8) >30 KP642133– 34 Xi et al., 2015
Aurantiactinomyxon types 1 & 2 of Zhao et al., 2016/Thelohanellus kitauei Egusa & Nakajima, 1981/MId,e Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: Kis-Balaton Reservoir

19.7

(17.3–23.3)

19.7

(17.3–23.3)

20.4

(18.7–23.3)

8.9 (7.4–10.0) 3.4 2.8 >28 KU66464 Zhao et al., 2016
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: Datong Lake, Honghu City, Hubei Province

AV 20.9

(19.3–22.1)

SV 18.4 (17.6–23.0)

AV 20.9

(19.3–22.1)

SV 22.3 (21.6–23.0)

19.7

(17.9–22.3)

11.6 (9.8–13.0) 3.0 (2.8–3.3) 2.4 (2.2–2.6) 32 KU664644 Zhao et al., 2016
Aurantiactinomyxon of Zhao et al., 2017/Thelohanellus testudineus Liu et al., 2013/MI Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: Carassius auratus gibelio fish farm, Hubei Province 15.5 ± 0.5 (14.5–16.4) 15.5 ± 0.5 (14.5–16.4) 13.2 ± 0.9 (11.5–16.2) 7.4 ± 0.4 (6.7–8.0) 2.5 ± 0.2 (2.3–2.9) 2.0 ± 0.2 (1.8–2.4) 32 KY475588 KY475589 Zhao et al., 2017
Aurantiactinomyxon of Milanin et al., 2017 Pristina americana Černosvitov Brazil: fish farm in Porto Ferreira city, São Paulo State

10.9

(8.7–11.5)

10.9

(8.7–11.5)

18.6

(18.1–20.1)

9.0 (8.5–9.4) 2.1 (1.6–2.4) 2.1 (1.6–2.4) KX068207 Milanin et al., 2017
Aurantiactinomyxon of Freeman & Kristmundsson, 2018 Lumbriculus variegatus (Müller) Iceland: lake Vifilsstadavatn 10.4 (9.0–12.5) 10.4 (9.0–12.5) 15.4 (14.5–16.3) 8.5 (7.5–10.0) = = = MH414928 Freeman & Kristmundsson (2018)
Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Milanin et al., 2018 Pristina synclites Stephenson

Brazil: fish farm in Terenos city, Mato Grosso do

Sul state

8.7

(8.2–9.7)

8.7

(8.2–9.7)

14.6

(12.2–16.3)

6.9 (5.4–8.8) 1.3 (1.0–1.4) 1.3 (1.0–1.4) MG878981 Milanin et al., 2018
Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of Milanin et al., 2018 Pristina synclites Stephenson

Brazil: fish farm in Terenos city, Mato Grosso do

Sul state

11.2

(10.2–11.9)

11.2

(10.2–11.9)

30.4

(25–33.3)

7.0(5.4–7.7) 1.5(1.3– 1.8) 1.5(1.3– 1.8) MG878982 Milanin et al.,2018
Guyenotia sphaerulosa Naville, 1930 Tubifex tubifex (Müller) France: Luc-sur-Mer, Calvados 15 15 40 6 5 32 Naville, 1930;Marques, 1984
Guyenotia of Xiao & Desser, 1998 Lumbriculus variegatus (Müller) Canada: Lake Sasajewun, Ontario

9.5

(9.0–10.5)

8.8

(8.0–9.5)

21.0

(16.0–25.0)

4.5–6.5 3.0(2.8–3.3) 2.0(1.8–2.2) 8–16 Xiao & Desser,1998
Guyenotia of Eszterbauer et al., 2006 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: Temperate Water Fish Farm near Budapest

10

(9.5–11)

10

(9.5–11)

16

(15–19.5)

4.5(4.0–5.5) 1.6(1.4–2.0) AY77906 Eszterbauer et al.,2006
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard Hungary: River Tisza near Tiszafüred

11

(10–12)

11

(10–12)

17

(15–21)

4.5(3.5–5.5) 1.6(1.3–2.0) AY779063 Eszterbauer et al.,2006
Guyenotia of Xi et al., 2013 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: freshwater pond, Jiangsu

10.3

(9.6–10.9)

10.3

(9.6–10.9)

18.5

(16.5–20.6)

6.0(5.4–6.4) 1.8(1.6–2.1 Xi et al., 2013
Guyenotia type CZ of Sun et al., 2014 Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard China: Changzhou

10.7

(10.0–12.1)

10.7

(10.0–12.1)

20.5

(17.4–23.8)

5.8(4.8–6.3) 1.8(1.7–2.0) KF912953 Sun et al., 2014

aDescribed as Aurantiactinomyxon major by Styer et al. (1992). A 100% sequence similarity was reported by Rosser et al. (2014), but GenBank accession number was not provided.

bMeasurements calculated from image available in the original description.

cOriginally suggested to potentially be Aurantiactinomyxon pavinsis, but 18S rDNA does not match the sequence obtained by Holzer et al. (2004) from the type-host.

dPresents a case of polymorphism, in which two different phenotypes of Aurantiactinomyxon share one genotype.

eType 1 was previously described as Aurantiactinomyxon type 4 by Borkhanuddin (2013), with slightly distinct measurements.

Assigning novel types to a specific collective group can be complicated given the overlapping definitions of several groups that share main morphological features, such as the formation of single spores versus multi-spore cages, and presence/absence of style or valvular processes. In fact, a boundary-less “continuum of form” has been suggested to exist between collective groups that differ based solely on the form of a specific morphological character, as is the case of aurantiactinomyxon, echinactinomyxon Janiszewska, 1957, guyenotia Naville, 1930, neoactinomyxum Granata, 1922 and raabeia Janiszewska, 1955 (see Hallett et al., 2006; Atkinson, 2011). Differentiation between these style-less morphotypes is based on the shape and length of the valvular processes, which are traditionally defined as being long and straight in echinactinomyxon, curved in raabeia, leaf-like and curved downwards in aurantiactinomyxon, digitiform in guyenotia, and short and spherical in neoactinomyxum (see review in Lom & Dyková, 2006). Although the original definition of aurantiactinomyxon also stated that the valvular processes embraced with their whole base the epispore cavity (Janiszewska, 1957), this criterion has been widely disregarded by researchers (see types in Burtle et al., 1991; Bellerud, 1993; Yokoyama et al., 1993; Yokoyama, 1997; Trouillier et al., 1996; Hallett et al., 1997; El-Mansy et al., 1998a, b; Székely et al., 1998; Özer et al., 2002a; Rosser et al., 2014; Milanin et al., 2018), not being included in the updated definition by Lom & Dyková (2006).

Recently, Rocha et al. (2019a) showed that the shape of the valvular processes is a morphological character too variable for distinguishing between raabeia and echinactinomyxon, based on the observation of a type producing actinospores with long valvular processes that were either curved or straight. Consequently, the demise of the echinactinomyxon collective group was proposed and the definition of raabeia was updated to encompass actinospores having straight valvular processes (Rocha et al., 2019a). Similarly, many of the aurantiactinomyxon types included in this synopsis display ambiguous features allowing conformity with the definitions of other collective groups. For instance, Aurantiactinomyxon janiszewskai and the Aurantiactinomyxon type of Xi et al., 2013 have long valvular processes that best resemble those of raabeia (Bellerud, 1993; Xi et al., 2013). Although the processes of the first curve downwards as traditionally described for aurantiactinomyxon, the second is depicted has having straight processes and would probably be better allocated to raabeia. The boundary between these collective groups is further blurred by the report of aberrant spores displaying unequal and different-shaped caudal processes, as is the case of the Raabeia type 4 of Özer et al., 2002 (see Özer & Wootten, 2002). The distinction between aurantiactinomyxon and neoactinomyxum is also tenuous, given that several aurantiactinomyxon types have short valvular processes, which only differ from neoactinomyxum by being triangular or rounded with slightly pointed ends rather than completely spherical (see types in Hallett et al., 1997; Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001; Oumona et al., 2003; Székely et al., 2000, 2003, 2004; Xi et al., 2015; Zhao et al., 2016). It should be noted that a few neoactinomyxum have been reported to have triangular valvular processes [see types described by Borkhanuddin et al. (2014) and Xi et al. (2015)].

However, it is with guyenotia that the lack of a distinctive boundary is most evident. Several aurantiactinomyxon types described in the literature have digitiform valvular processes that conform with the definition of guyenotia, including the Aurantiactinomyxon type of Burtle et al., 1991, Aurantiactinomyxon type of El-Matbouli et al., 1992, Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Yokoyama et al., 1993, Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of Hallett et al., 1997, Aurantiactinomyxon types 2 and 5 of El-Mansy et al., 1989a, Aurantiactinomyxon type 3 of Özer et al., 2002, Aurantiactinomyxon type 1 of Oumouna et al., 2003, Aurantiactinomyxon type A of Eszterbauer et al., 2006, and the Aurantiactinomyxon of Hallett et al., 2006. The inclusion of types with digitiform processes within the aurantiactinomyxon collective group was previously noticed by Xiao & Desser (1998), who suggested they should be transferred to guyenotia. However, the fallibility of this morphological criterion has led authors to compare aurantiactinomyxon and guyenotia interchangeably (see Burtle et al., 1991; Eszterbauer et al., 2006; Xi et al., 2013). Moreover, Hallett et al. (2002) proved that a single aurantiactinomyxon type can produce actinospores with different process length and shape, having observed two distinct phenotypes associated with the same genotype: one displaying swollen, leaf-like processes with either pointed or rounded ends, and the other having elongated, digitiform-like processes. This clearly shows that there is no real boundary between aurantiactinomyxon and guyenotia. Consequently, the demise of the guyenotia collective group is here proposed, with the transference of its types to aurantiactinomyxon. Original names are retained so as not to increase confusion. The decision to invalidate the oldest group rather than the most recent one relates to the low number of guyenotia that have been reported in the literature; only 5 types of guyenotia have been described versus the 61 types of aurantiactinomyxon that are presently known (see Table 1). Accordingly, aurantiactinomyxon is tentatively defined as having a spherical, subspherical, cylindrical or triangular actinospore body with 3 polar capsules protruding from the apex. Three equally sized latero-posterior valvular processes arise from the actinospore body without a style, curving downwards and tapering to a rounded or pointed end, being leaf-like, propeller-like, digitiform or triangular. Nonetheless, this should be regarded as a temporary definition, given that the increase of our knowledge of actinospore biodiversity will undoubtedly blur even more the boundaries between aurantiactinomyxon, raabeia, and even neoactinomyxum. Overall, this “continuum of form” demonstrates that a general shift is needed in our approach to actinospore grouping (Atkinson, 2011), which should probably be based on actinospore functionality relative to environment and host ecology, rather than on morphology.

The great majority of aurantiactinomyxon types reported in the literature infect freshwater oligochaetes belonging to the family Naididae Ehrenberg, 1828 [currently includes members of the former Tubificidae (Erséus et al., 2008)], with reports mainly from the species Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard, but also T. tubifex, Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède, and Dero digitata (Müller), and less frequently from Lophochaeta ignota Štolc, and members of the genera Nais Müller and Pristina Ehrenberg. A few types have their oligochaete hosts identified only up to the genus- or family-level (see Marques, 1984; Grossheider & Körting, 1992; Benajiba & Marques, 1993), while a few others lack host information (see El-Mansy et al., 1998a; Oumouna et al., 2003; Hallett et al., 2006). Only the three Aurantiactinomyxon types described by Hallett et al. (1997), and the Aurantiactinomyxon type of Rocha et al., 2019, are known to occur in the marine environment, parasitizing naidid oligochaetes belonging to the genera Limnodriloides Pierantoni, Pacifidrilus Erséus, and Tubificoides Lastočkin. The only exceptions to the usage of naidids as hosts are Aurantiactinomyxon pavinsis, widely reported from the freshwater lumbriculid Stylodrilus heringianus Claparède (see Marques, 1984; Oumouna et al., 2003; Holzer et al., 2004; Marcucci et al., 2009), the Aurantiactinomyxon of Freeman & Kristmundsson, 2018, and the Aurantiactinomyxon type of McGeorge et al., 1997 as reported from Lumbriculus variegatus (Müller) by Özer & Wootten (2001). The former Guyenotia type of Xiao & Desser, 1998 was also reported from L. variegatus (Xiao & Desser, 1998). A few types have been reported from more than a single host species: Aurantiactinomyxon raabei junioris, Aurantiactinomyxon minor, Aurantiactinomyxon of El-Matbouli et al., 1992, Aurantiactinomyxon of Benajiba & Marques, 1993, and Aurantiactinomyxon of Székely et al., 1998 supposedly infect more than a single naidid species (Table 1), while Aurantiactinomyxon pavinsis and the Aurantiactinomyxon type of McGeorge et al., 1997 have been reported from both naidids and lumbriculids (Table 1). Considering that these reports are not backed-up by molecular data, Rocha et al. (2019c) suggested that aurantiactinomyxon might be host specific, further proposing that actinospores of new isolates be identified through a comprehensive morphological and biological comparison to known types sharing the same annelid host.

Individual prevalence of infection of aurantiactinomyxon types is typically low, ranging from 0.01% to 1.5% in wild environments, and from 0.26% to 4.6% in surveys performed from fish farms, though there is evidence of significant spatial and temporal variations (see El-Mansy et al., 1998a,b; Özer et al., 2002b; Eszterbauer et al., 2006) that probably reflect host genetics, proximity, and habitat preferences, as well as abiotic factors (see Alexander et al., 2015 and references therein). Higher prevalence of infection has been reported when considering the number of infected individuals within only a specific host species, rather than in relation to the annelids population that was sampled (see Székely et al., 2000; Negredo & Mulcahy, 2001), or when pooling all aurantiactinomyxon types occurring in a single annelid species to determine the prevalence of infection of the collective group in a specific sampling site (see El-Mansy et al., 1998a,b). Experimental transmission studies have also reported higher values of prevalence of infection. For instance, Székely et al. (1998) reported 12.5% and 16.7% prevalence of infection of the aurantiactinomyxon counterparts of Thelohanellus nikolskii Achmerov, 1955 and Thelohanellus hovorkai Achmerov, 1964, respectively.

About 60 myxosporean life cycles have been elucidated to date (see Eszterbauer et al., 2015), with aurantiactinomyxon types being actinospore counterparts to Chloromyxum truttae (Léger, 1906), Henneguya exilis (Kudo, 1929), the PGD agent Henneguya ictaluri Pote, Hanson, & Shivaji, 2000, Henneguya mississippiensis Rosser et al., 2005, Hoferellus carassii Achmerov, 1960, Hoferellus cyprini (Doflein, 1898) Berg, 1898, Myxobolus intimus Zaika, 1965, Paramyxidium giardi (Cépède, 1906) Freeman & Kristmundsson, 2018, T. hovorkai, Thelohanellus kitauei Egusa & Nakajima, 1981, T. nikolskii, and Thelohanellus testudineus Liu et al., 2013 (Eszterbauer et al., 2015 and references therein; Zhao et al., 2016, 2017; Rocha et al., 2019c; Borzák et al., 2021). The former Guyenotia type of Eszterbauer et al., 2006 has also been linked to an unidentified Zschokkella sp. from Carassius auratus Linnaeus, 1758 (Eszterbauer et al., 2006; data in GenBank). Clarification of the life cycles of H. carassii and H. cyprini were based solely on experimental transmission studies, with all others established through molecular inference, based on DNA match between myxosporean and actinosporean counterparts (99.2% to 100% similarity reported in the literature). However, the 18S rDNA sequences of the actinospores reported to match H. ictaluri and H. exilis were not made available (see Lin et al., 1999; Rosser et al., 2014), so that molecular information can only be found for the myxosporean stage. In turn, no sequence is available for the myxosporean stage of T. hovorkai, which accounts for two distinct actinospore stage sequences in GenBank. Anderson et al. (2000) reported a single 710 bp 18S rDNA sequence (AJ133419) obtained from both myxosporean and actinosporean stages of T. hovorkai. Actinospores were retrieved from infections in B. sowerbyi and were identified by the authors as belonging to the Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of Yokoyama et al., 1993, previously reported to be the life cycle counterpart of T. hovorkai based on experimental transmission (see Yokoyama et al., 1993; Yokoyama, 1997; Székely et al., 1998). Later, Eszterbauer et al. (2006) obtained two similarly sized sequences (DQ231153 with 817 bp and DQ231154 with 785 bp) from aurantiactinomyxon actinospores in B. sowerbyi that were reported to match unpublished sequences of T. hovorkai obtained by the authors during a previous experimental infection study, though being morphologically and genetically different from the Aurantiactinomyxon type 2 of Yokoyama et al., 1993 (see Yokoyama, 1997; Yokoyama et al., 1993; Székely et al., 1998). Presently, both these aurantiactinomyxon types remain identified as life cycle counterparts of T. hovorkai, being included as such in Table 1.

A more comprehensive and clear understanding of the diversity of this collective group is necessary to help clarify important interactions with annelid hosts and involvement in myxozoan life cycles. The description of novel types and re-description of known types that remain without molecular data, namely those comprising reports from several hosts, will surely contribute towards this aim. Thus far, molecular-based studies are limited by the paucity of available data but have shown that morphologically similar aurantiactinomyxon actinospores may be distantly related (Rocha et al., 2019c), in the same manner that morphologically different actinospores can share the same genotype (see Hallett et al., 2002; Eszterbauer et al., 2006; Zhao et al., 2016). Consequently, the combined analysis of biological, morphological, and molecular criteria is imperative for performing reliable type identification (Rocha et al., 2019c). This task is significantly hampered by the difficulty in obtaining earlier reports, and due to imprecision and confusion of information in the literature.

In this study, a comprehensive summary of the biological characters and morphometry of all types described within the aurantiactinomyxon group and former guyenotia is provided as an important tool for researchers working in this field. Sixty-six types were counted, with data from original descriptions and subsequent reports. Aurantiactinomyxon eiseniellae Ormières & Frézil, 1969 was not included in the count, as Marques (1984) transferred this type to the neoactinomyxum collective group. Morphometric characters include actinospore body length and width, length and width of valvular processes, length and width of polar capsules, and number of secondary cells. Number of coils of polar tubules was not included, given that this information is available only for the Aurantiactinomyxon of Székely et al., 1998 (3–4), Aurantiactinomyxon of Xiao & Desser, 1998 (3–4), Aurantiactinomyxon of Rocha et al., 2019c (4–5), and the Guyenotia of Xiao & Desser, 1998 (3–4) (Borzák et al., 2021; Rocha et al., 2019c; Székely et al., 1998; Xiao & Desser, 1998). Information on host, locality and availability of molecular data is also provided.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge Doctor Stephen Atkinson for his suggestions. This research was funded by national funds through Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), within the scope of the project PTDC/BIA-BMA/6363/2020, and the FCT employment contract 2022.06670.CEECIND.

Author contributions

SR performed all literature review and manuscript writing.

Funding

Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on).

Declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no competing interests.

Footnotes

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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