Life History
In addition to the fish host, C. shasta infects a freshwater polychaete worm (Bartholomew et al., 1997). Actinospores are released from the worm, and infect fish, on contact, in the water column. Neither horizontal (fish to fish), nor vertical (fish to egg) transmissions have been documented under laboratory conditions, suggesting that the worm host is necessary for completion of the life cycle.
Spores are released back into freshwater system after its fish host dies, however the complete life cycle, host and vector interaction is not fully understood (especially the ecology of the polychaete host).
Research indicates that the potential for infection is enhanced when water temperatures are high, water flow is low, or numbers of infectious C. shasta are relatively high. Infection rates appear to be higher in or below still water environments than riverine ones.
Read more about this topic: Ceratomyxa Shasta
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