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    <front>
        <journal-meta>
            <journal-id journal-id-type="issn">0973-7510</journal-id>
            <journal-title-group>
                <journal-title>Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology</journal-title>
            </journal-title-group>
            <issn pub-type="epub">2581-690X</issn>
            <publisher>
                <publisher-name>DR. M.N. Khan</publisher-name>
            </publisher>
        </journal-meta>
        <article-meta>
            <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22207/JPAM.20.3.61</article-id>
            <title-group>
                <article-title>Unveiling the Hidden Links between Digenean Pseudoplagioporus sp. and Pathogenic Bacterial Co-infections in Lethrinus nebulosus: Pathogenicity, Immunity, and Host Morphometrics</article-title>
            </title-group>
 
			<contrib-group>

				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Taman</surname>
                    <given-names>Naglaa A.</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Almimoni</surname>
                    <given-names>Nourah Mohammad Saeed</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Gazi</surname>
                    <given-names>Khaled S.</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Al-Zahrani</surname>
                    <given-names>Khalid</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Albaldi</surname>
                    <given-names>Fawzyah</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>El Hassan</surname>
                    <given-names>Somia Mohammed</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Mohammed</surname>
                    <given-names>Thuraya</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Alzahrani</surname>
                    <given-names>Amal</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>

			<contrib contrib-type="author">
                <name>
                    <surname>Melebari</surname>
                    <given-names>Mohammad</given-names>
                </name>
                <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
            </contrib>
				
			</contrib-group>


      <aff id="aff-1">Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.</aff>
      <aff id="aff-2">Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia.</aff>


            <pub-date publication-format="electronic" date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2026-09-03">
                <day>03</day>
				<month>09</month>
                <year>2026</year>
            </pub-date>
            <volume>20</volume>
            <issue>3</issue>
            <fpage>2676</fpage>
            <lpage>2698</lpage>
            <permissions>
                <copyright-statement>Copyright &#x00A9; 2026 The Author(s)</copyright-statement>
                <copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
                <license license-type="open-access"
                    xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
                    <license-p>This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.<uri
					xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
                            >https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</uri></license-p>
                </license>
            </permissions>
            <self-uri xlink:href="https://microbiologyjournal.org/unveiling-the-hidden-links-between-digenean-pseudoplagioporus-sp-and-pathogenic-bacterial-co-infections-in-lethrinus-nebulosus-pathogenicity-immunity-and-host-morphometrics"/>
            <abstract>
                <p>Saudi Arabia’s extensive coastlines along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf offer vital marine resources where Lethrinus nebulosus faces threats from parasitic and bacterial coinfections. This study investigates the prevalence and interrelation of the digenean parasite Pseudoplagioporus sp. Yamaguti, 1938 and various pathogenic bacteria, examining their correlations with host morphometric traits (weight, length, width, age, and sex). This research provides novel insights into the synergistic impact of these pathogens on fish health, a neglected area of study in Red Sea fisheries. Over 5 months (September 2022-March 2023), 35 fish were collected from Al-Qunfudhah. A total of 35 samples were initially collected; however, 7 samples were excluded from the study due to severe clinical sickness/poor condition, which made them unsuitable for accurate dissection and parasitological examination. Therefore, a final sub-sample of 28 specimens was successfully dissected and analyzed. successfully examined. Six bacterial genera, including Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella, were identified alongside internal parasites (n = 16 Digenea). Statistical analysis (ANOVA and t-test) revealed significant inverse correlations (P &lt; 0.05) between bacterial frequency index and host morphometric parameters. Notably, male fish exhibited higher susceptibility to both bacterial and parasitic infections compared to female fish. Furthermore, the interaction between Pseudoplagioporus sp. and pathogenic bacteria appeared competitive rather than symbiotic, suggesting that coinfections significantly alter host immunity and condition factors. These results prompt the development of integrated strategies for monitoring fish health and controlling infectious agents in marine ecosystems.</p></abstract>
		<kwd-group>
        <title>Keywords</title>
        <kwd>Lethrinus nebulosus</kwd> 
		<kwd>Pseudoplagioporus sp.</kwd> 
		<kwd>Internal Parasites</kwd> 
		<kwd>Digenea</kwd> 
		<kwd>Pathogenic Bacteria</kwd> 
		<kwd>Coinfection</kwd> 
		<kwd>Morphometric Traits</kwd> 
		<kwd>Pathogenicity</kwd> 
		<kwd>Host Immunity</kwd> 
		<kwd>Microbiome</kwd>
		</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
</article>