Breizacanthus is a genus in Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms, also known as spiny-headed worms).

Breizacanthus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Acanthocephala
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
Order: Echinorhynchida
Family: Arhythmacanthidae
Genus: Breizacanthus
Golvan, 1969

Taxonomy

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The genus was described by Golvan in 1969. The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on any Breizacanthus species that would confirm its position as a unique order in the family Arhythmacanthidae.[1] In the absence of genetic information, morphological traits are used to define this genus. These traits include: a cylindrical proboscis, the absence of spines on the trunk, only the anterior end of trunk is dilated, and the lemnisci are longer than the proboscis receptacle. It is morphologically very similar to Euzetacanthus where both the anterior and posterior ends of trunk are dilated and the lemnisci are not longer than the proboscis receptacle.[2]

Description

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Breizacanthus species consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a long trunk without any spines.[2]

Species

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The genus Breizacanthus Golvan, 1969 contains five species.

  • Breizacanthus aznari Hernández-Orts, Alama-Bermejo, Crespo, García, Raga & Montero, 2012[3] Infests the banded cusk-eel (Raneya brasiliensis),[3] and the pink cusk-eel (Genypterus blacodes).[4]
  • Breizacanthus chabaudi Golvan, 1969 Infests the Striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus).[5]
  • Breizacanthus golvani Gaevskaja & Shukhgalter, 1984
  • Breizacanthus irenae Golvan, 1969
  • Breizacanthus ligur Paggi, Orecchia & Della Setta, 1975[6] It is named after the Ligurian Sea.[6]

Distribution

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The distribution of Breizacanthus is determined by that of its hosts. B. aznari is found off the Patagonian coast in Argentina.[3]

Hosts

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Life cycle of Acanthocephala.[7][a]

The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host. Although the intermediate hosts of Breizacanthus are ???. When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor is passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. There may be paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for Breizacanthus.[9]

Breizacanthus parasitizes animals. There are no reported cases of Breizacanthus infesting humans in the English language medical literature.[8]

Notes

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  1. ^ There are no known aberrant human infections for Breizacanthus species.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Schoch, Conrad L; Ciufo, Stacy; Domrachev, Mikhail; Hotton, Carol L; Kannan, Sivakumar; Khovanskaya, Rogneda; Leipe, Detlef; Mcveigh, Richard; O’Neill, Kathleen; Robbertse, Barbara; Sharma, Shobha; Soussov, Vladimir; Sullivan, John P; Sun, Lu; Turner, Seán; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene (2020). "NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools". Database : The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation. NCBI. doi:10.1093/database/baaa062. PMC 7408187. PMID 32761142. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Pichelin S, Cribb TH. A review of the Arhythmacanthidae (Acanthocephala) with a description of Heterosentis hirsutus n. sp. from Cnidoglanis macrocephala (Plotosidae) in Australia. Parasite. 1999 Dec;6(4):293-302. doi: 10.1051/parasite/1999064293. PMID: 10633499.
  3. ^ a b c Hernández Orts, J. S., Alama Bermejo, G., Crespo, E. A., García, N. A., Raga, J. A., & Montero, F. E. (2012). Breizacanthus aznari sp. n.(Acanthocephala: Arhythmacanthidae) from the banded cusk-eel Raneya brasiliensis (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) from the Patagonian coast in Argentina. https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/54482/CONICET_Digital_Nro.8a4bdd80-bc05-4d13-881a-8b83ae051b23_A.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
  4. ^ Hernández-Orts, J. S., Alama-Bermejo, G., García, N. A., Crespo, E. A., Montero, F. E., Raga, J. A., & Aznar, F. J. (2019). Acanthocephalans from marine fishes from Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Parasitology, 105(1), 162-169.
  5. ^ Golvan, Y. J., & De Buron, I. (1988). Les hôtes des Acanthocéphales. II—Les hôtes définitifs. 1. Poissons. Annales de parasitologie humaine et comparée, 63(5), 349-375.
  6. ^ a b Paggi L, Orecchia P, Della Seta G. Su di un nuovo acantocefalo Breizacanthus ligur sp.n. (Palaeacanthocephala: Arhythmacanthidae Yamaguti, 1935) parassita di alcune specie di pesci bentonici del Mar Ligure [A new Acanthocephala Breizacanthus ligur sp. n. (Palaeacanthocephala: Arhythmacanthidae Yamatugi, 1935) parasite of some species of benthic fishes from the Ligurian Sea]. Parassitologia. 1975 Jan-Dec;17(1-3):83-94. Italian. PMID: 1233404.
  7. ^ CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (11 April 2019). "Acanthocephaliasis". www.cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  8. ^ a b Mathison, BA; et al. (2021). "Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics". J Clin Microbiol. 59 (11): e02691-20. doi:10.1128/JCM.02691-20. PMC 8525584. PMID 34076470.
  9. ^ Schmidt, G.D. (1985). "Development and life cycles". In Crompton, D.W.T.; Nickol, B.B. (eds.). Biology of the Acanthocephala (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 273–305. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.