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Haematological response of snow barbell, Schizothorax plagiostomus Heckel, naturally infected with a new Trypanosoma species

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Abstract

The present study deals with the description of a new piscine trypanosome species found infecting the fresh water fish Schizothorax plagiostomus Heckel from river Jhelum, Srinagar, J&K, India and evaluating the haematological parameters of the infected fish. Haematological examination of S. plagiostomus revealed 61.1 % infection with an intensity of 1–9 trypanosomes/100 RBC’s. Small (26.9 ± 1.39 µm) and large (47.17 ± 3.50 µm) forms of the trypanosome were observed in light microscopy investigations, revealing the dimorphic nature of the species. The trypanosome species was found to be distinct from the other related dimorphic species in morphometric dimensions including cell length, cell breadth, kinetoplast index, flagellar index, and cytological peculiarities, respectively. The detailed descriptions of the two morphological forms found in the blood of S. plagiostomus are provided. Based on the geographical location, morphometrics, cytological peculiarities, host status and comparative study, the new species is named Trypanosoma kashmirensis n. sp. The parasitic infestation caused a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in red blood cell counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin concentrations while, the leucocyte (WBC) count, mean cellular volume and mean cellular haemoglobin showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the infected fish as compared to the non-infected. The above alterations of the haematological parameters could be used as an important tool for the indication of Trypanosoma infection in the fish.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Head, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, India, for providing the necessary laboratory facilities and also gratefully acknowledge the generous funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi in the form of DST-FAST Track Young Scientist Project.

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  1. Fish Nutrition Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, 190006, J&K, India

    Aamir Maqbool & Imtiaz Ahmed

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  1. Aamir Maqbool
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Maqbool, A., Ahmed, I. Haematological response of snow barbell, Schizothorax plagiostomus Heckel, naturally infected with a new Trypanosoma species. J Parasit Dis 40, 791–800 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-014-0580-x

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