Molecules infer origins of ectoparasite infrapopulations on tuna

Infrapopulation genetic variation of the oioxenous, hermaphroditic flatworm Nasicola klawei (Monogenea: Capsalidae) infecting the nasal cavities of nine yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, from the Gulf of Mexico was analyzed using the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), ITS1 sequencing, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Of a total of 32 worms, six had unique ITS1-SSCP types and the rest was grouped by three types. Two worms of the same infrapopulation shared an ITS1-SSCP type in nine instances but no infrapopulation was monophyletic by ITS1-SSCP analysis. ITS1 sequences (420 bp) varied by 1-11 (0.2-2.6%) nucleotides. Twenty-three AFLP profiles of 80-110 bands failed to support genomic monophyly of any N. klawei infrapopulation. 28S rDNA (990 bp) sequences from four worms representing four infrapopulations were identical and matched conspecific GenBank sequences. Concordant ITS1-SSCP and AFLP analyses indicated that these N. klawei infrapopulations principally resulted from tuna being repeatedly colonized by planktonic, infective larvae (oncomiracidia) rather than by a single host colonization followed by parasite maturation, self-fertilization, and production of auto-infecting progeny.