Bivalves, intermediate hosts for trematodes
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Diseases of Bivalves: Historical and Current Perspectives
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Abstract
Digenean trematodes (phylum Platyhelminthes) are flattened, bilaterally symmetrical organisms found in many environments. Commonly (but with many variations), they have a three host life-cycle involving a first intermediate host in which sporocysts and rediae proliferate clonally ending with production of cercaria (a tailed form of the larval) that infects a second intermediate host. The cercaria transforms into a metacercaria and remains in the secondary intermediate host until consumed by the definite host (usually a vertebrate). Bivalves are one type of invertebrate that serve as both a primary and a secondary intermediate host. Sporocysts proliferate in the vascular system especially around the gonads where they cause parasitic castration. Metacercaria, can accumulate in large numbers and cause reduced function of the bivalve tissues. Mortality has been associated with both types of infections and are important to diagnose, most recently using molecular methods, especially in significantly affected aquacultured or commercially fished bivalve populations.
First Page
191
Last Page
216
DOI
10.1016/B978-0-12-820339-2.00028-0
Recommended Citation
Smolowitz, R. (2024). Bivalves, intermediate hosts for trematodes. Diseases of Bivalves: Historical and Current Perspectives, 191-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-820339-2.00028-0
ISBN
[9780128203392, 9780128203439]
