Presence of Aphanomyces astaci in Pontastacus (Astacus) leptodactylus, detected in Polyfytou lake


Publicado: may 18, 2026
Actualizado: 2026-05-18
Versiones:
2026-05-18 (3)
I Karamaligas
E Gourzioti
P Pantazis
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4949-2862
Resumen

A case of Aphanomyces astaci infection in Pontastacus (Astacus) leptodactylus, is described in the present study. During summer season, in June 2023, in lake Polyfytou, 60 individuals of crayfish were collected from five different sites of it and transferred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, at University of Thessaly. According to macroscopic and microscopic examination, 32 crayfish that exhibited obvious signs of infection, such as carapace erosion, melanized body patches and spots on their body, underparts, tail, pleiopods and walking legs joints, or individuals with amputation of the walking legs and visible inking at the amputation site, were separated for further analysis. Molecular analysis showed that 32/60 samples from lake Polyfytou were positive to Aphanomyces astaci. Further research is required to investigate the presence of Aphanomyces astaci, including more freshwater crayfish species, sites and temperature ranges.

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