Aphanomyces species associated with red spot disease: an ulcerative disease of estuarine fish from eastern Australia

Abstract. Broad, non-septate, fungal hyphae are a constant finding in the necrotising dermatitis lesions and dermal ulcers characteristic of red spot disease. During a one-year period, fungi with hyphae morphologically consistent with those seen in histological sections of lesions were recovered from 27 out of 28 lesions on sea mullet, Mugil cephalus L., yellowfin bream, Acanthopagrus australis (Owen), and sand whiting, Sillago ciliata Cuvier, collected from three widely separated river systems in eastern Australia. Cultural and morphological characteristics, including spore formation, of 24 of these isolates were examined. In addition, tolerances to different salinities, growth on different media and growth at different temperatures were studied for three representative isolates, one from each species of fish. These studies suggest that all isolates belonged to a single species within the genus Aphanomyces. Their role in the pathogenesis of red spot disease, and their relationship with other Aphanomyces spp. affecting fish, is discussed.