Virus-like particles in Urastoma cyprinae, a turbellarian parasite of Mytilus galloprovincialis

Abstract

Urastoma cyprinae is a turbellarian parasite infecting the gills of several marine bivalves. We observed the presence of virus-like particles (24 to 30 nm in diameter; icosahedral symmetry) arranged in paracrystalline arrays in the cytoplasm of subepidermal dorsal cells. These particles appear to be RNA viruses, possibly related to the Picornaviridae. This is the first report of viral particles in the parasite U. cyprinae. © Inter-Research 2008.