Monogenea

– ECIPs current research on monogenean parasites follows several project lines:

(1) Research on viviparous monogeneans is focused on organismal, structural and molecular diversity of European, African and Antarctic gyrodactylids, while research on oviparous monogeneans focuses on speciation and species composition, including structural diversity of monogeneans parasitising the main African cichlid lineages.

(2) In the case of oviparous monogeneans, our analysis of the structural and molecular diversity of dactylogyrids parasitising African tetras /Alestidae/ and African catfishes includes reconstruction of molecular phylogenies and speciation for both the hosts and their monogenean parasites.

(3) We are investigating diplozoid /Diplozoidae/ phenotypic plasticity and validating systematic structures of taxonomic importance using complex ultrastructure studies, organismal and molecular diversity, phylogeny and application of next-generation sequencing technologies.

(4) Research on the diversity of Haliotrema-like dactylogyrids parasitising New Caledonian goatfishes /Mullidae/ focuses particularly on evaluating the relative taxonomic importance of morphological characteristics traditionally used in monogenean systematics for resolving species and genus identification in accordance with molecular data.

Fig. 1. Opisthatoral sclerotized structures of Volsellituba elephantinae parasitic on the gills of Mulloidichthys vanicolensis.

Fig. 2 Major neuronal pathways in the central nervous system of Eudiplozoon nipponicum from the gills of a common carp Cyprinus carpio. Light microscopy micrograph.

Fig. 3 The anterior body parts of Eudiplozoon nipponicum /Monogenea: Diplozoidae/. Confocal laser scanning micrograph.

Fig. 4. The opisthaptor of Macrogyrodactylus sp. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae). Scanning electron micrograph.

Fig. 5 The sclerotised structures of Macrogyrodactylus sp., taken from an African alestid fish. Light microscopy micrograph.