Crayfish plague in Czechia: Outbreaks from novel sources and testing for chronic infections

Mojžišová, Michaela; Mrugała, Agata; Kozubíková‐Balcarová, Eva; Vlach, Pavel; Svobodová, Jitka; Kouba, Antonín; Petrusek, Adam

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2020.107390

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Crayfish plague has caused large-scale mortalities of native crayfish in the area since the 1890s (Kozubíková et al 2006). Although not considered a conservation problem throughout most of the 20 th century, crayfish plague outbreaks, caused by A. astaci genotypes associated with different North American host taxa (Grandjean et al 2014), are at present rampant in the country (Kozubíková et al 2008;Kozubíková-Balcarová et al 2014;Mojžišová et al 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Czech waters host three documented North American crayfish species. Faxonius limosus that invaded the Elbe river as far back as the 1960s (Petrusek et al 2006) and P. leniusculus, introduced for fishery purposes in 1980 (Filipová et al 2006), are both widespread in at least some regions of the country (Kouba et al 2014;Mojžišová et al 2020). Procambarus virginalis has recently been documented from two sites, most likely resulting from aquarium releases (Patoka et al 2016), but there is a high probability that other established populations of P. virginalis are yet waiting to be discovered.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Simultaneous detection of native and invasive crayfish and Aphanomyces astaci from environmental DNA samples in a wide range of habitats in Central Europe

Rusch¹,

Mojžišová²,

Strand³

et al. 2020

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Crayfish of North American origin are amongst the most prominent high-impact invasive invertebrates in European freshwaters. They contribute to the decline of European native crayfish species by spreading the pathogen causing crayfish plague, the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci. In this study we validated the specificity of four quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays, either published or newly developed, usable for environmental DNA (eDNA) screening for widely distributed native and non-native crayfish present in Central Europe: Astacus astacus, Pacifastacus leniusculus, Faxonius limosus and Procambarus virginalis. We then conducted an eDNA monitoring survey of these crayfish as well as the crayfish plague pathogen in a wide variety of habitat types representative for Central and Western Europe. The specificity of qPCR assays was validated against an extensive collection of crayfish DNA isolates, containing most crayfish species documented from European waters. The three assays developed in this study were sufficiently species-specific, but the published assay for F. limosus displayed a weak cross-reaction with multiple other crayfish species of the family Cambaridae. In the field study, we infrequently detected eDNA of A. astaci together with the three non-native crayfish species under examination. We never detected eDNA from A. astaci together with native crayfish, but in a few locations eDNA from both native and non-native crayfish was captured, due either to passive transport of eDNA from upstream populations or co-existence in the absence of infected crayfish carriers of A. astaci. In the study, we evaluated a robust, easy-to-use and low-cost version of the eDNA sampling equipment, based mostly on items readily available in garden stores and hobby markets, for filtering relatively large (~5 l) water samples. It performed just as well as the far more expensive equipment industrially designed for eDNA water sampling, thus opening the possibility of collecting suitable eDNA samples to a wide range of stakeholders. Overall, our study confirms that eDNA-based screening for crayfish and their associated pathogen is a feasible alternative to traditional monitoring.

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confidence: 99%

Simultaneous detection of native and invasive crayfish and Aphanomyces astaci from environmental DNA samples in a wide range of habitats in Central Europe

Rusch¹,

Mojžišová²,

Strand³

et al. 2020

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“…Group D, isolated from the red swamp crayfish P. clarkii (Diéguez-Uribeondo et al, 1995), has mostly been detected in southwestern Europe, where this crayfish invader is particularly widespread (e.g., Caprioli et al, 2018;Martín-Torrijos et al, 2019). Recently, group D strains were also associated with mortalities in Czechia (Mojžišová et al, 2020), with aquarium-kept crayfish (known to host this group; Mrugała et al, 2017a;Makkonen et al, 2018) implicated as likely sources of the infection. Group E was originally isolated from the spiny-cheek crayfish F. limosus (Kozubíková et al, 2011a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Group E was originally isolated from the spiny-cheek crayfish F. limosus (Kozubíková et al, 2011a). Its crayfish host is widespread from France across Central Europe to the Baltic countries (Kouba et al, 2014), which corresponds to regions where mortalities associated with group E have been reported (Grandjean et al, 2014;Kaldre et al, 2017;Mojžišová et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, recently obtained data on the A. astaci distribution and genotypes from Eastern Europe and Turkey, summarized in Ungureanu et al (2020), come mostly from chronic infections of the narrow-clawed crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus indigenous to those regions. In this host, at least three different strains have been documented, including those of genotype groups A and B (e.g., Kokko et al, 2018) as well as the enigmatic genotype "SSR-Up" (Panteleit et al, 2018), characterized so far by a specific allele combination of microsatellite markers and otherwise known only from mass mortalities in Czechia (Grandjean et al, 2014;Mojžišová et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Real-Time PCR Assays for Rapid Identification of Common Aphanomyces astaci Genotypes

et al. 2021

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The oomycete Aphanomyces astaci is the etiologic agent of crayfish plague, a disease that has seriously impacted the populations of European native crayfish species. The introduction of non-indigenous crayfish of North American origin and their wide distribution across Europe have largely contributed to spread of crayfish plague in areas populated by indigenous crayfish. Tracking A. astaci genotypes may thus be a useful tool for investigating the natural history of crayfish plague in its European range, as well as the sources and introduction pathways of the pathogen. In this study, we describe the development of real-time PCR TaqMan assays aiming to distinguish the five genotype groups of A. astaci (A–E) previously defined by their distinct RAPD patterns. The method was evaluated using DNA extracts from pure A. astaci cultures representing the known genotype groups, and from A. astaci-positive crayfish clinical samples collected mostly during crayfish plague outbreaks that recently occurred in Central Italy and Czechia. The assays do not cross-react with each other, and those targeting genotype groups A, B, D, and E seem sufficiently specific to genotype the pathogen from infected crayfish in the areas invaded by A. astaci (particularly Europe). The unusual A. astaci genotype “SSR-Up” documented from crayfish plague outbreaks in Czechia and chronically infected Pontastacus leptodactylus in the Danube is detected by the group B real-time PCR. The assay originally developed to detect group C (one not yet documented from crayfish plague outbreaks) showed cross-reactivity with Aphanomyces fennicus; the A. astaci genotype “rust1” described in the United States from Faxonius rusticus is detected by that assay as well. Analyses of additional markers (such as sequencing of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer or mitochondrial ribosomal subunits) may complement such cases when the real-time PCR-based genotyping is not conclusive. Despite some limitations, the method is a robust tool for fast genotyping of A. astaci genotype groups common in Europe, both during crayfish plague outbreaks and in latent infections.

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Host Resistance and Behavior Determine Invasion Dynamics of a Detrimental Aquatic Disease

Koivu‐Jolma,

Kortet,

Vainikka

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding the role of variation in host resistance and the multitude of transmission modes of parasites infecting hosts with complex behavioral interactions is essential for the control of emerging diseases. We used a discrete stage model to study the invasion dynamics of crayfish plague—an example of a detrimental disease—into a naïve host population that displays within‐population variation in resistance of environmental infections and juvenile classes that are safe from contacts with adults. In the model, infection sources include four age classes of crayfish, contaminated carcasses, and free‐dwelling zoospores. Disease transmission occurs via environment with a threshold infection density and through contacts, cannibalism, and scavenging of disease‐killed conspecifics. Even if the infection is fatal, coexistence of the host and the parasite can be facilitated by variance of resistance and survival of the hiding juveniles. The model can be applied in the control of emerging diseases especially in crayfish‐like organisms.

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Crayfish plague in Czechia: Outbreaks from novel sources and testing for chronic infections

Cited by 18 publications

References 65 publications

Simultaneous detection of native and invasive crayfish and Aphanomyces astaci from environmental DNA samples in a wide range of habitats in Central Europe

Simultaneous detection of native and invasive crayfish and Aphanomyces astaci from environmental DNA samples in a wide range of habitats in Central Europe

Real-Time PCR Assays for Rapid Identification of Common Aphanomyces astaci Genotypes

Host Resistance and Behavior Determine Invasion Dynamics of a Detrimental Aquatic Disease

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