Conserved Hepatospora eriocheir Sequences in Chinese Mitten Crabs from Poland, Germany and Belgium: A Comparative Molecular Study
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, Bee Diseases and Aquatic Animal Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute, Al. Partyzantów 57, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
- 2Department of Marine Ecology, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Al. M. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland
- 3Center for Molecular Biodiversity, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Bundesstrasse 43, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
- 4ECOSPHERE Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1C, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Abstract
Hepatospora eriocheir is an obligate intracellular microsporidian associated with the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, an important aquaculture species in Asia and an invasive species in Europe. We investigated parasite sequence variation in crabs from three European regions: the Vistula Lagoon in the Baltic Sea (Poland) and the Elbe and Scheldt catchments draining into the North Sea (Germany and Belgium). Among 57 crabs examined, 26 infections were confirmed by small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequencing, including 17 newly identified infections among 42 specimens collected in 2022. The parasite groups comprised 13 Polish, eight German and five Belgian infections. Their SSU rRNA sequences were identical across a 794-position shared core, and all 26 newly generated arginyl-tRNA synthetase (ArgRS) sequences were identical across 624 nucleotides and matched the British reference KU695717. Both parasite gene fragments were identical across four host mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotypes; the Eriocheir japonica-associated haplotype was detected only in Belgian crabs in this sample. The study provides the first specimen-linked, sequence-confirmed molecular characterisation of infections in the sampled German and Belgian crab populations, together with new Polish infections from 2022 and a comparative two-locus reference dataset. The repeated Baltic detection, combined with shared Polish–German host COI haplotypes and existing evidence of North Sea–Baltic connectivity, is consistent with the arrival of infected migrating crabs, although the parasite’s precise source remains unresolved.
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BibTeX
@article{stachnik2026conserved,
title = {{Conserved Hepatospora eriocheir Sequences in Chinese Mitten Crabs from Poland, Germany and Belgium: A Comparative Molecular Study}},
author = {Magdalena Stachnik and Monika Normant-Saremba and Christine Ewers and Heleen Keirsebelik and Jonas Schoelynck},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219646},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9646},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Conserved Hepatospora eriocheir Sequences in Chinese Mitten Crabs from Poland, Germany and Belgium: A Comparative Molecular Study
AU - Magdalena Stachnik
AU - Monika Normant-Saremba
AU - Christine Ewers
AU - Heleen Keirsebelik
AU - Jonas Schoelynck
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219646
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9646
AB - Hepatospora eriocheir is an obligate intracellular microsporidian associated with the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, an important aquaculture species in Asia and an invasive species in Europe. We investigated parasite sequence variation in crabs from three European regions: the Vistula Lagoon in the Baltic Sea (Poland) and the Elbe and Scheldt catchments draining into the North Sea (Germany and Belgium). Among 57 crabs examined, 26 infections were confirmed by small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequencing, including 17 newly identified infections among 42 specimens collected in 2022. The parasite groups comprised 13 Polish, eight German and five Belgian infections. Their SSU rRNA sequences were identical across a 794-position shared core, and all 26 newly generated arginyl-tRNA synthetase (ArgRS) sequences were identical across 624 nucleotides and matched the British reference KU695717. Both parasite gene fragments were identical across four host mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotypes; the Eriocheir japonica-associated haplotype was detected only in Belgian crabs in this sample. The study provides the first specimen-linked, sequence-confirmed molecular characterisation of infections in the sampled German and Belgian crab populations, together with new Polish infections from 2022 and a comparative two-locus reference dataset. The repeated Baltic detection, combined with shared Polish–German host COI haplotypes and existing evidence of North Sea–Baltic connectivity, is consistent with the arrival of infected migrating crabs, although the parasite’s precise source remains unresolved.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -