Comparative susceptibility of two different genetic types of tilapia to Neobenedenia sp. (Monogenea)

Two different genetic types of tilapia, Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (MT), and Pargo-UNAM (PU; a synthetic hybrid whose genetic composition is 50% Florida red tilapia, 25% Rocky Mountain tilapia, and 25% red variant Oreochromis niloticus), were acclimatized to salinity and exposed to seawater from the Gulf of Mexico off the port of Veracruz, Mexico. Both fish types were infected by the monogenean ectoparasite Neobenedenia sp. and were killed within 2 to 3 wk. A crude worm extract was prepared from whole specimens collected during the original outbreak and used to immunize naive hosts of the same 2 types of tilapia. Immunized fish were then exposed to seawater, which resulted in Neobenedenia sp. infection. Immunization did not confer any protection against Neobenedenia sp. infection. However, the experiment enabled detailed analysis of the dynamics of infection and comparison of the effects of the parasite on the 2 host types. Although both tilapia types exhibited similar resistance to infection (as they harbored similar parasite burdens in the early phase of infection), PU is less tolerant to Neobenedenia sp., as a mean parasite abundance of ca. 50 worms fish-' killed all hosts within a fortnight, while 22% of MT survived up to 3 wk, harboring a mean parasite abundance of ca. 900 worms fish-'. Our results suggest that, as reported elsewhere, Neobenedenia sp. could negatively affect mariculture off the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico.