Objectives

The Laboratory of Pathology is a laboratory dedicated to the Pathology of Aquatic Organisms, mainly fish. Diseases have a huge economic impact and in some cases they could be responsible for the failure of the culture facilities or the decrease of wild stocks. The knowledge of fish diseases and the improvement of measures that could decrease their impact and obtaining better quality and welfare in farmed fish are the main objectives of the Lab.

The main research lines of the Laboratory are

• Fish bacteriology
• Fish parasitology
• Pathology of farmed fish
• Impact of fish parasites in Public Health
• Ecology of fish parasites

Main Achievements

• Detection of several parasites / bacteria in wild and cultured fish.
• Description of several new parasite species from fish and other aquatic organisms from Europe, Africa and South America.
• Detection of parasites important to the public health and determination of infection levels.
• Study of parasite life cycles.

Future Research

The main lines of research will be pursuit. The knowledge of pathogens (identification, life cycles, environmental conditions, etc.) in order to improve measures to minimize their impact and to increase quality and welfare of farmed organisms will be the main objectives of the lab.

Most Relevant International Publications

Casal, G, Clemente, SCS, Matos, P, Azevedo, C. 2012. Redefining the genus Spraguea based on ultrastructural and phylogenetic data from Spraguea gastrophysis n. sp. (Phylum Microsporidia), parasite found in Lophius gastrophysus from Brazil. Parasitology Research (in press).

Eiras, JC, Saraiva, A, Cruz, CF, Santos, MJ, Fiala, I. 2011. Synopsis of the species of the genus Myxidium Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa, Myxosporea, Bivalvulida). Systematic Parasitology 80: 81-116.

Hermida, M, Mota, R, Pacheco, CC, Santos, CL, Cruz, C, Saraiva, A, Tamagnini, P. 2011. Infection levels and diversity of anisakid nematodes in blackspot seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo, from Portuguese waters. Parasitology Research, Doi: 10.1007/s00436-011-2718-4

Marques, A, Tato-Costa, J, Conde, C, Azevedo, C, Teles-Grilo, ML. 2011. Chromosomal localization of five genes in Perkinsus olseni (Phylum Perkinsozoa). European Journal of Protistology (in press).

Rangel, LF, Santos, MJ, Cech, G, Szekely, C. 2009. Morphology, molecular data, and development of Zschokkella mugilis (Myxosporea, Bivalvulida) in a polychaete alternate host, Nereis diversicolor. Journal of Parasitology 95: 561-569.