Fasciola hepatica: the redial generations in juvenile Pseudosuccinea columella

Juvenile Pseudosuccinea columella, measuring 1 or 2 mm in height, were subjected to single-miracidium infections with Fasciola hepatica to determine the developmental pattern of redial generations and count free and live rediae according to their generation. Controls were constituted of juvenile Galba truncatula infected according to the same protocol. In the four groups, redial counts were performed in snails dissected every week from day 7 to day 49 post-exposure at 20 °C. Most infected snails showed a normal development of redial generations, whatever the lymnaeid species. In P. columella, the total number of live rediae on day 49 was 24.6 and 34.6 per infected snail in the 1 and 2-mm groups, respectively (instead of 11.5 and 18.8 rediae in the corresponding groups of G. truncatula). A single mother redia (R1a) producing only daughter rediae of the second generation was noted in each snail of three groups, while the 2-mm P. columella showed the presence of a single (43 snails/71) or two (28/71) R1a redia(e) within their bodies. The mean number of other mother rediae and that of daughter rediae of the second generation were low in the 1 and 2-mm groups of both lymnaeids. Besides, there was a delay in redial development. The development of two live R1a rediae in several P. columella from the 2-mm group needs to verify if this process would be specific to P. columella or would occur in other lymnaeid species known for their good susceptibility to the digenean and their larger size to allow harbouring rediae.