New data on Henneguya postexilis Minchew, 1977, a parasite of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, with notes on resolution of molecular markers for myxozoan phylogeny

Previous morphological and histological data are supplemented with molecular and ultrastructural data for a Henneguya sp. isolated from farm-raised channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in Mississippi, USA. Myxospores were cryptic, encapsulated within a thin layer of epithelium in the gill lamellae with spore measurements consistent with the original description of Henneguya postexilis Minchew, 1977. Myxospores were 42.7–49.1 µm in total length with spore bodies 12.1–17.2 × 3.6–4.8 × 2.9–3 µm. Polar capsules were of unequal length, with the longer capsule being 4.4–6.7 × 1.1–1.6 µm and the shorter capsule being 4.4–6.4 × 1.1–1.6 µm. Polar tubules had 6–8 turns. Caudal processes were 25.7–38.1 µm in length. Spores were encapsulated in a thin layer of epithelium in the gill lamellae. Molecular data from the most commonly used markers for myxozoan identification and phylogeny, partial 18S small subunit ribosomal gene ( SSU ), partial 28S large subunit ribosomal gene ( LSU ), and elongation factor 2 ( EF2 ) were generated for H. postexilis. Additionally, novel data for LSU and EF2 were generated for archived myxozoan specimens from farm-raised catfish ( H. mississippiensis , H. ictaluri , H. exilis , H. adiposa , H. sutherlandi , H. bulbosus , Unicauda fimbrethilae ), as well as archived specimens from wild fish ( H. laseeae [from Pylodictis olivaris ], Hennegoides flockae [from Aphredoderus sayanus ], Myxobolus cloutmani [from Cycleptus elongatus ]. These include the first EF2 sequence data for the genera Hennegoides and Unicauda . Phylogenetic analyses using these data placed H. postexilis in well supported clades with other ictalurid-infecting Henneguya species. Phylogenetic signal assessments on these analyses suggest that while SSU provided the greatest phylogenetic signal, LSU yielded comparable signal, supporting previous work implying this region may be underutilised in reconstructing myxobolid phylogenies.