Phylogenetic characterisation of seven Unicapsula spp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Multivalvulida) from commercial fish in southern China and Japan

The myxozoan genus Unicapsula Davis, 1924 (Myxosporea: Multivalvulida: Trilosporidae) is characterized as having one functional polar capsule (PC) and two rudimentary PCs in a three-valved myxospore. The plasmodia of Unicapsula spp. grow either in the myofibres or in the gills, oesophageal walls and urinary organs of marine fish. Few studies have investigated the taxonomy of Unicapsula spp. including the type species Unicapsula muscularis. Accordingly, the taxonomy of the genus was explored in the present study by using 15 new isolates of seven Unicapsula spp. (U. muscularis, U. galeata, U. andersenae, U. pyramidata, U. pflugfelderi, and two new species) that had formed pseudocysts in the trunk myofibres of commercial fish collected in southern China and Japan from November 2015 to January 2019. Two new species Unicapsula trigona n. sp., and Unicapsula motomurai n. sp. exhibited unique myxospore morphologies (semi-triangular and spherical myxospores, respectively) and 18S and 28S rDNA sequences that were distinct from those of the other Unicapsula spp. Phylogenetic analysis of the 18S and 28S rDNA sequences confirmed the monophyletic status of Unicapsula.