The North American crayfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Procambarus clarkii</Emphasis> is the carrier of the oomycete <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aphanomyces astaci</Emphasis> in Italy |
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Authors: | L Aquiloni M P Martín F Gherardi J Diéguez-Uribeondo |
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Institution: | 1.Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica “Leo Pardi”,Università di Firenze,Florence,Italy;2.Departamento de Micología,Real Jardín Botánico CSIC,Madrid,Spain |
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Abstract: | Aphanomyces astaci (Saprolegniales, Oomycetes) is classified among the 100 world’s worst invasive species. This species is endemic to North
America and has been introduced into Europe by imports of their hosts, the North American crayfish species. As a consequence,
extensive mass mortalities involved several populations of the European crayfish. Here, we checked its occurrence in four
Italian populations of Procambarus clarkii, the most widespread alien crayfish in Italy. Digital image analyses and image processing techniques were used to select
micro-melanized areas in the subabdominal cuticle of 2–10 crayfish per population. All the selected areas tested positive
for A. astaci ITS nrDNA specific primers; moreover, the obtained sequences clearly corresponded to A. astaci, thus revealing that P. clarkii is an active carrier of this oomycete in Italy. Decisions are to be urgently made to control the spread of both P. clarkii and A. astaci for the conservation of the indigenous crayfish biodiversity. |
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