Perkinsus

Perkinsus is a genus of alveolates in the phylum Perkinsozoa. The genus was erected in 1978 to better treat its type species, Perkinsus marinus, known formerly as Dermocystidium marinum.^[1] These are parasitic protozoans that infect molluscs, at least some of which cause disease and mass mortality. P. marinus is the most notorious, causing the disease perkinsosis, or dermo, in wild and farmed oysters.^[2]

Perkinsus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Clade:	Diaphoretickes
Clade:	SAR
Clade:	Alveolata
Phylum:	Myzozoa
Class:	Perkinsea
Order:	Perkinsida
Family:	Perkinsidae
Genus:	Perkinsus Levine, 1978

Description

Perkinsus is a genus in the class Perkinsea that is a parasite of bivalve molluscs; it displays a number of features typical of the dinoflagellates including laterally inserted heterodynamic flagella,. However, it has been settled that Perkinsus does not belong to the phylum Dinoflagellata, but rather into the phylum Perkinsozoa,^[3] which is the sister group of dinoflagellates.^[4]

Classification

As of 2004, six valid species were in the genus.^[1] At least two more have been described since then.^[5][6]

Species and common hosts include:

• Perkinsus andrewsi on Baltic clam (Macoma balthica)^[7]
• Perkinsus beihaiensis on the oysters Magallana hongkongensis and M. ariakensis^[5]
• Perkinsus chesapeaki on soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria)^[8]
• Perkinsus honshuensis on Manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum)^[6]
• Perkinsus marinus on eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
• Perkinsus mediterraneus on European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis)^[9]
• Perkinsus olseni (syn. P. atlanticus) on blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra) and grooved carpet shell (Ruditapes decussatus)^[10]
• Perkinsus qugwadii on yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis)

P. andrewsi and P. chesapeaki might be the same species; because the latter was described first, the name P. andrewsi will be a synonym.^[11]

References

1. Villalba, A.; et al. (2004). "Perkinsosis in molluscs: a review" (PDF). Aquatic Living Resources. 17 (4): 411–32. doi:10.1051/alr:2004050.
2. Petty, D. Perkinsus Infections of Bivalve Molluscs. FA178. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. 2010.
3. Norén, Fredrik; Moestrup, Øjvind; Rehnstam-Holm, Ann-Sofi (October 1999). "Parvilucifera infectans Norén et Moestrup gen. et sp. nov. (Perkinsozoa phylum nov.): a parasitic flagellate capable of killing toxic microalgae". European Journal of Protistology. 35 (3): 233–254. doi:10.1016/S0932-4739(99)80001-7.
4. Corey C. Holt; Elisabeth Hehenberger; Denis V. Tikhonenkov; Victoria K. L. Jacko-Reynolds; Noriko Okamoto; Elizabeth C. Cooney; Nicholas A. T. Irwin; Patrick J. Keeling (3 November 2023). "Multiple parallel origins of parasitic Marine Alveolates". Nature Communications. 14 (1): 7049. doi:10.1038/S41467-023-42807-0. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 10624901. PMID 37923716. Wikidata Q125317501.
5. Moss, J. A.; et al. (2008). "Description of Perkinsus beihaiensis n. sp., a new Perkinsus sp. parasite in oysters of southern China" (PDF). Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 55 (2): 117–30. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2008.00314.x. PMID 18318865. S2CID 27201960.
6. Dungan, C. F.; Reece, K. S. (2006). "In vitro propagation of two Perkinsus spp. parasites from Japanese Manila clams, Venerupis philippinarum, and description of Perkinsus honshuensis n. sp". J Eukaryot Microbiol. 53 (5): 316–26. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2006.00120.x. PMID 16968449. S2CID 20733450.
7. Coss, C. A.; et al. (2001). "Description of Perkinsus andrewsi n. sp. isolated from the Baltic clam (Macoma balthica) by characterization of the ribosomal RNA locus, and development of a species-specific PCR-based diagnostic assay". J Eukaryot Microbiol. 48 (1): 52–61. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2001.tb00415.x. PMID 11249193. S2CID 30154498.
8. McLaughlin, S. M.; et al. (2000). "Zoosporulation of a new Perkinsus species isolated from the gills of the softshell clam Mya arenaria". Parasite. 7 (2): 115–22. doi:10.1051/parasite/2000072115. PMID 10887658.
9. Casas, S. M.; et al. (2004). "Perkinsus mediterraneus n. sp., a protistan parasite of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis from the Balearic Islands, Mediterranean Sea" (PDF). Dis Aquat Org. 58 (2–3): 231–44. doi:10.3354/dao058231.
10. Azevedo, C (August 1989). "Fine structure of Perkinsus atlanticus n. sp. (Apicomplexa, Perkinsea) parasite of the clam Ruditapes decussatus from Portugal". The Journal of Parasitology. 75 (4): 627–35. doi:10.2307/3282915. JSTOR 3282915. PMID 2760774.
11. Burreson, E. M.; et al. (2005). "Molecular, morphological, and experimental evidence support the synonymy of Perkinsus chesapeaki and Perkinsus andrewsi". J Eukaryot Microbiol. 52 (3): 258–70. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.05-00035.x. PMID 15927003. S2CID 24256877.

External links

• Guiry, M. D. & G. M. Guiry. 2013. Perkinsus Levine, 1978. AlgaeBase. National University of Ireland, Galway. Accessed 8 September 2013.