View text source at Wikipedia
Sphaerothecum destruens | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Class: | Ichthyosporea |
Order: | Dermocystida |
Family: | incertae sedis |
Genus: | Sphaerothecum |
Species: | S. destruens
|
Binomial name | |
Sphaerothecum destruens Arkush et al., 2003
|
Sphaerothecum destruens (the rosette agent) is a parasite of fish.[1][2] It was first discovered in the United States in association with invasive species including topmouth gudgeon, but was found to be the causative agent of a disease in the UK affecting salmonid species such as Atlantic salmon and brown trout. It is thought to pose more of a risk in Europe than in the US, as native species there are more susceptible to the parasite. The disease causes high rates of morbidity and mortality in a number of different salmonid species and can also infect other UK freshwater fish such as bream, carp, and roach.[3] The genus Sphaerothecum is closely related to the genera Dermocystidium and Rhinosporidium.[2]