Are European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) susceptible to infection by a temperate Hematodinium sp.?

• Juvenile European lobsters were challenged with Hematodinium sp.
• For up to 8 months, all lobsters tested negative for Hematodinium sp.
• European lobsters are not susceptible to infection by a temperate species of Hematodinium sp.

Hematodinium spp. infect over 40 species of crustaceans worldwide, but have not been reported to infect the European lobster, Homarus gammarus. In this study, Hematodinium parasites (a mixture of uni- and multinucleate trophont-like stages) were taken from donor crabs (Cancer pagurus) and injected into juvenile H. gammarus. Juvenile C. pagurus were also injected with the same inoculum. Haemolymph was taken at regular intervals and examined for the presence of Hematodinium using light microscopy and PCR, in two separate experiments of duration 4 and 8 months. All lobsters were negative for Hematodinium whilst the C. pagurus challenged became infected. It is concluded that European lobsters are not susceptible to infection with a clade of Hematodinium that infects C. pagurus.

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