A new species, Aphanomyces salsuginosus sp. nov., isolated from ice fish Salangichthys microdon

A species of Aphanomyces was isolated from the ice fish Salangichithys microdon living in brackish water in Japan. White cotton-like growth was found on the heads and fins of the fish. Hyphae penetrated into the dermal layers, subcutaneous tissues, muscular layers, and cartilaginous tissue of the mandible and maxilla; these hyphae were associated with cellular debris and lesions in host tissue. White fluffy colonies from subcultures of these growths were isolated on glucose–yeast agar plates with 0.5% sodium chloride (NaCl). These isolates consisted of delicate, slightly wavy, and moderately branched hyphae. Zoosporangia were isodiametric with the vegetative hyphae. Oogonia were abundant and approximately 21–33 μm in diameter, with irregular short papillae. Generally they were spherical or subspherical and only rarely pyriform. Individual oogonia usually contained a single oospore, which was spherical and 19–27 μm in diameter, with a large shiny vesicle. Antheridial branches, when present, were usually androgynous; however, they were sometimes monoclinous or diclinous. The optimal growth temperature of the isolates was 20°C, and cultures grew well at low salinity (0–0.5% NaCl). Phylogenic analysis based on the internal transcribed space 1-5.8S-ITS 2 of the ribosomal RNA gene indicates that these isolates will be an as-yet unidentified species of Aphanomyces.