Metabolic profile evaluation of Subulina octona Bruguière, 1789 (Gastropoda, Subulinidae) experimentally infected with Paratanaisia bragai (Santos, 1934) (Digenea, Eucotylidae)
digenetic trematode; host-parasite relationship; reproductive patterns;
Digenetic trematode infection can cause changes in the reproductive activity of snails that are intermediate hosts. However, these changes vary according to the species of snail and parasite involved, age of the host, infective parasite load, abiotic and biotic factors. Our aim was verify the reproductive alterations in Subulina octona after infection by Paratanaisia bragai. The infected snails were individually exposed for 24 hours to 20 parasite eggs and four groups were formed (10, 20, 30 and 40 d.p.i.), along with control groups. Every 10 days, the number of eggs in the reproductive tract, number of eggs hatched, galactogen content and histopathological changes were evaluated. The regression analysis of the reproductive parameters indicated the inversion of the observed patterns for the number of eggs per snail and of eggs hatched during the experimental period between the control and infected snails. However, in relation to the amount of galactogen, the two groups followed the same pattern of variation. In the histology, we observed the presence of male and female gametes with marked reduction in the number of oocytes. The results indicate that the intra-snail development of the parasite affects the reproductive biology of the host.