Shoaib Ali Dar

First record of protozoan parasites in cyprinid fish, Schizothorax niger Heckel, 1838 from Dal lake in Kashmir Himalayas with study on their pathogenesis.

Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 obtained from gills during a parasitological survey conducted for the protozoan parasitic fauna of Schizothorax niger a snow trout in Dal Lake, Kashmir, India during the period October 2013 and March 2015. Thirty out of 180 fish were found infected with protozoan parasites. During the study of their pathogenecity the most common deteriorating signs observed in gill tissue were necrosis, hypertrophy, hyperplasia and fusion of secondary lamellae. Prevalence of infection was found to be 16.66%. This is the first record of the protozoan fauna of the schizothoracines from Kashmir valley, India.

Myxobolus chushi n. sp. (Myxozoa:Myxosporea) parasitizing Schizothorax niger (Heckel), a native cyprinid fish from Wullar Lake in Kashmir Himalayas

In the study, a new species, Myxobolus chushi n. sp. infecting gills of wild specimens of Schizothorax niger (Heckel) inhabiting Wullar Lake in Kashmir Himalayas, (J&K) India has been described based on morphology of the myxospore and using partial 18S rDNA sequencing. Pathological changes in the gills have been studied with the help of histological sections stained with Lunas method. Twenty fish specimens were examined, out of which four had oval, white plasmodia in gills measuring 2.0×0.5mm. The myxospores were spherical to ovoidal in shape with slightly attenuated posterior end, measuring 11.17±0.23 (10.60-11.40)μm in length and 9.14±0.06 (8.80-9.20)μm in width, having a prominent pore at the anterior end. The polar capsules were pyriform in shape, measuring 4.25±0.15 (4.00-4.40)μm in length and 2.38±0.27 (2.00-2.65)μm in width having polar filaments forming coils up to 5 in number. Parietal folds 9 in number present on the posterior part of the shell. The intensity of infection was recorded to be moderate as indicated by gill plasmodial index (GPI=2). The plasmodium was located in the vascular network occupying whole of the gill lamella therefore typed as intralamellar vascular type, LV3. Analysis of 18S small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequence of the isolate demonstrated 90% homogeneity with M. sp. KLT-2014 infecting scales of Labeo rohita from Myanmar and 89% with M. dermiscalis infecting scales of Labeo rohita from India.

Characterization of Aeromonas sobria Isolated from Fish Rohu (Labeo rohita) Collected from Polluted Pond

One of the major threats to fish aquaculture sector is the infection by Aeromonas Spp. The current study assesses the phenotypic characteristics and biochemical characterization of the A. sobria strains from the fish cases with septicaemia in order to understand the frequency and occurrence of this infection in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Clinically the infected fish Rohu (Labeo rohita), one of the Indian Major carps (IMC), was observed for symptoms like loss of escape reflex and skin darkness associated with skin haemorrhages. We isolated 30 colonies of A. sobria strain from 10 cultured Labeo rohita collected from a controlled fish pond in District Poonch of the state. The pond was affected by mismanagement practices, elevated pollution levels and anthropogenic activities. Microscopic examination revealed that the strain was rod-shaped and gram negative. The revealed percent probability identification of A. sobria from the biochemical characterization in Vitek system was 93% with GN card. This study could give us clues for understanding A. sobria harbouring in fish species and shall help in better understanding of the threat prevalent to the fish species of the region by this infection.

Endoparasites of some economically important food fishes of River Jhelum, Kashmir (India)

During the present study endo-parasitic fauna of fish at different sites of River Jhelum were analysed. Four different species of endoparasites were recovered from Schizothorax species which include Adenoscolex kashmirensis Mehra, 1930, Bothriocephalusacheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934, Echinorhynchus sp., Pomphorhynchus kashmirensis Kaw, 1941, belong to Phylum Platyhelminths and Phylum Acanthocephala. Prevalence and generation time were inversely proportional to each other. Prevalence and mean abundance were highest at Qamarwari. Diversity was more at Tengpora. Cestodes including Adenoscolex kashmirensis and Bothriocephalus acheilognathi were more dominant than Pomphorhynchus kashmirensis and Echinorhynchus sp.

Protozoan Parasites in A Cold Water Cyprinid Fish Schizothorax Niger from Kashmir Himalayas

The present study was aimed to isolate protozoan parasites infecting the cold water native carp belonging to Subfamily Schizothoracines collected from fresh water ecosystems of Kashmir Himalayas. Out of 373 specimens collected from two locations i.e Dal and Wullar Lake 81 specimens of S. niger were found to be infected with parasites belonging to the Phylum Ciliophora with a prevalence of 21.71%. Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 with a prevalence of 60%, Ichthyophtheirius multifilis Fouquet, 1876 with a prevalence of 34.92% and Chilodinella uncinata Ehrenberg, 1838 with a prevalence rate of 26.15% were recorded from gills of S. niger at two locations i.e Dal Lake and Wullar Lake. Species diversity was found to be greater in Dal Lake. During this study no infection was recorded from other cold water fishes collected such as S.esocinus, S.curvifrons and S.richardsonii. Clinical signs revealed mucous laden gills. The histological observations indicate that the present parasites results in a wide range of deleterious changes ranging from hypertrophy and hyperplasia of gill epithelium to fusion of secondary gill lamellae.