Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas

Davies, Charlotte E.; Malkin, Sophie H.; Thomas, Jonathan; Batista, Frederico M.; Rowley, Andrew F.; Coates, Christopher J.

doi:10.3390/pathogens9060462

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“… Stentiford et al, 2003 and Stentiford and Shields, 2005 do note that there was surprisingly little evidence of host reactivity towards Hematodinium in crabs co-infected with yeast-like microbes. Mycosis is a rare event in the shore crabs studied here (<0.3%; Davies et al, 2020b ). Two crabs were harbouring both yeast-like and Hematodinium sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Hematodinium sp. infection does not drive collateral disease contraction in a crustacean host

Davies

Thomas

Malkin

et al. 2022

eLife

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Host, pathogen, and environment are determinants of the disease triangle, the latter being a key driver of disease outcomes and persistence within a community. The dinoflagellate genus Hematodinium is detrimental to crustaceans globally – considered to suppress the innate defences of hosts, making them more susceptible to co-infections. Evidence supporting immune suppression is largely anecdotal and sourced from diffuse accounts of compromised decapods. We used a population of shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), where Hematodinium sp. is endemic, to determine the extent of collateral infections across two distinct environments (open-water, semi-closed dock). Using a multi-resource approach (PCR, histology, haematology, population genetics, eDNA), we identified 162 Hematodinium-positive crabs and size/sex-matched these to 162 Hematodinium-free crabs out of 1191 analysed. Crabs were interrogated for known additional disease-causing agents; haplosporidians, microsporidians, mikrocytids, Vibrio spp., fungi, Sacculina, trematodes, and haemolymph bacterial loads. We found no significant differences in occurrence, severity, or composition of collateral infections between Hematodinium-positive and Hematodinium-free crabs at either site, but crucially, we recorded site-restricted blends of pathogens. We found no gross signs of host cell immune reactivity towards Hematodinium in the presence or absence of other pathogens. We contend Hematodinium sp. is not the proximal driver of co-infections in shore crabs, which suggests an evolutionary drive towards latency in this environmentally plastic host.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Hematodinium sp. infection does not drive collateral disease contraction in a crustacean host

Davies

Thomas

Malkin

et al. 2022

eLife

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Carcinin is a potent antibacterial peptide distributed among diverse tissue types in C. maenas [ 29 , 55 ], and is a likely candidate for deimination by symbiotic residents. The haemolymph of C. maenas (like many invertebrates) is not always sterile, routinely hosting endobiotic bacteria 10-1000s per mL [ 6 ], in addition to viruses and other microeukaryotes [ 3 , 56 ]. Symbiont-mediated deimination of haemolymph factors like carcinin and hemocyanin (having roles in immunity and respiration [ 57 ], could be, to a certain extent, part of the balance between host and residents, also aligning with previous studies highlighting possible citrullination of host proteins by symbionts [ 38 , 39–41 , 42 , 47 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extracellular vesicle signatures and protein citrullination are modified in shore crabs ( Carcinus maenas ) infected with Hematodinium sp

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Epizootiologists recurrently encounter symbionts and pathobionts in the haemolymph (blood equivalent) of shellfish. One such group is the dinoflagellate genus Hematodinium , which contains several species that cause debilitating disease in decapod crustaceans. The shore crab Carcinus maenas acts as a mobile reservoir of microparasites, including Hematodinium sp., thereby posing a risk to other co-located commercially important species, e.g. velvet crabs ( Necora puber ). Despite the widespread prevalence and documented seasonality of Hematodinium infection dynamics, there is a knowledge gap regarding host-pathogen antibiosis, namely, how Hematodinium avoids the host’s immune defences. Herein, we interrogated the haemolymph of Hematodinium -positive and Hematodinium -negative crabs for extracellular vesicle (EV) profiles (a proxy for cellular communication), alongside proteomic signatures for post-translational citrullination/deimination performed by arginine deiminases, which can infer a pathologic state. Circulating EV numbers in parasitized crab haemolymph were reduced significantly, accompanied by smaller EV modal size profiles (albeit non-significantly) when compared to Hematodinium -negative controls. Differences were observed for citrullinated/deiminated target proteins in the haemolymph between the parasitized and control crabs, with fewer hits identified overall in the former. Three deiminated proteins specific to parasitized crab haemolymph were actin, Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM), and nitric oxide synthase – factors that contribute to innate immunity. We report, for the first time, Hematodinium sp. could interfere with EV biogenesis, and that protein deimination is a putative mechanism of immune-modulation in crustacean- Hematodinium interactions.

show abstract

“…their hyphae penetrating the cuticle and growing inside the exoskeleton and the tissues immediately beneath), they can mostly be found on the surface of crustacean exoskeleton [ 31 , 66 ]. However, in the case of severe infection, microbial fungi can be found in other tissues, including hemolymph [ 67 ] and hepatopancreas [ 68 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mycobiome of a successful crayfish invader and its changes along the environmental gradient

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The microbiome plays an important role in biological invasions, since it affects various interactions between host and environment. However, most studies focus on the bacteriome, insufficiently addressing other components of the microbiome such as the mycobiome. Microbial fungi are among the most damaging pathogens in freshwater crayfish populations, colonizing and infecting both native and invasive crayfish species. Invading crayfish may transmit novel fungal species to native populations, but also, dispersal process and characteristics of the novel environment may affect the invaders’ mycobiome composition, directly and indirectly affecting their fitness and invasion success. This study analyzes the mycobiome of a successful invader in Europe, the signal crayfish, using the ITS rRNA amplicon sequencing approach. We explored the mycobiomes of crayfish samples (exoskeletal biofilm, hemolymph, hepatopancreas, intestine), compared them to environmental samples (water, sediment), and examined the differences in fungal diversity and abundance between upstream and downstream segments of the signal crayfish invasion range in the Korana River, Croatia. Results A low number of ASVs (indicating low abundance and/or diversity of fungal taxa) was obtained in hemolymph and hepatopancreas samples. Thus, only exoskeleton, intestine, sediment and water samples were analyzed further. Significant differences were recorded between their mycobiomes, confirming their uniqueness. Generally, environmental mycobiomes showed higher diversity than crayfish-associated mycobiomes. The intestinal mycobiome showed significantly lower richness compared to other mycobiomes. Significant differences in the diversity of sediment and exoskeletal mycobiomes were recorded between different river segments (but not for water and intestinal mycobiomes). Together with the high observed portion of shared ASVs between sediment and exoskeleton, this indicates that the environment (i.e. sediment mycobiome) at least partly shapes the exoskeletal mycobiome of crayfish. Conclusion This study presents the first data on crayfish-associated fungal communities across different tissues, which is valuable given the lack of studies on the crayfish mycobiome. We demonstrate significant differences in the crayfish exoskeletal mycobiome along the invasion range, suggesting that different local environmental conditions may shape the exoskeletal mycobiome during range expansion, while the mycobiome of the internal organ (intestine) remained more stable. Our results provide a basis for assessing how the mycobiome contributes to the overall health of the signal crayfish and its further invasion success.

show abstract

Mycosis Is a Disease State Encountered Rarely in Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Hematodinium sp. infection does not drive collateral disease contraction in a crustacean host

Hematodinium sp. infection does not drive collateral disease contraction in a crustacean host

Extracellular vesicle signatures and protein citrullination are modified in shore crabs ( Carcinus maenas ) infected with Hematodinium sp

The mycobiome of a successful crayfish invader and its changes along the environmental gradient

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About