Project: Effect of Benthic Invertebrate Populations, Riparian Zone and Associated Water Quality on Infection Rates of Tubifex tubifex with Myxobolus cerebralis

Primary Investigator: Deborah Cartwright
Project Summary: Few studies have addressed environmental effects (other than temperature) on Tubifex tubifex populations, or their ability to become infected with Myxobolus cerebralis and produce infective triactinomyxons (TAMs), particularly in Eastern states. In previous studies T. tubifex were collected from streams with four land-cover types-meadow or agricultural, deciduous, coniferous and deciduous/meadowland. Results of these studies found that certain sites, particularly those dominated by a deciduous riparian zone, had a low percent of T. tubifex within the oligochaete benthic population and a low percentage of these were lineage III, the only lineage researchers found to be infected. It is possible that particular environments may select for certain lineages that differ in susceptibility to M. cerebralis infection or that environmental factors may affect infectivity within a lineage. Laboratory studies, using reference worms in site-specific substrate plus site-specific worms in their individual substrate, supported the field observations, but also suggested factors other than substrate may affect infectivity and viable TAM production at some sites. Hence, the research team will further evaluate the oligochaete populations and water quality at these sites. In additional, laboratory exposures will evaluate the ability of T. tubifex from the individual sites to be infected in a reference substrate (sand), determine if differences in infectivity are observed in similar lineages from different environments and determine which genes are used during the development of M. cerebralis within T. tubifex that might affect infection possibly causing non-viable TAMs or lack of development in certain lineages/strains.
Funding Period: 2005-2006
Final Report: 2005-2006 final report not yet available
Dataset(s) associated with this project:

There are no datasets associated with this project.