Isolation of infectious microalga Prototheca wickerhamii from a carp (Cyprinus carpio) - a first confirmed case report of protothecosis in a fish

Abstract

Protothecosis is a rare infection caused by environmentally ubiquitous achlorophyllic microalgae of the genus Prototheca. Here, we describe a first case of protothecosis in a carp (Cyprinus carpio), which is at the same time the first case of protothecosis in a fish, confirmed by phenotype- and molecular-based methods, including PCR sequencing of the rDNA cluster and protein profiling using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Keywords: Cyprinus carpio; Prototheca wickerhamii; algae; carp; protothecosis.