Prevalence of Mytilicola intestinalis (Copepoda:Mytilicolidae) and Urastoma cyprinae (Turbellaria:Hypotrichinidae) in marketable mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis in Italy

Abstract

Marketable mussels Mytilus qalloprovlncla0's traded with commercial certification from production sltes in Italy and abroad (France, Spain) were exarnlned for the presence of A4ytrllcola intestinalls (Copepoda. Mytllicolidae) and Urastoma cyprlnae (Turbellana Hypotrichlnidae) from October 1994 to February 1996. The prevalence of M. intestlnahs was 4 1 % and 4.7% respectively In mussels from Lerici (La S p e z~a ) and S Pietro in Volta (Venice), whereas ~t rose to 57.9% in the samples from Spain. A4. intestinalis was absent In mussels from C h i o g g~a (Venlce). Ganzlrn (Messina), Taranto, Tneste and France. The prevalence of U cyprinae vaned considerably, ranging from 0 . 3 Y in mussels from Trani (Bari) to 33 2 % and 86.3% respectively in those from Chioggia and Tr~este. It was 85 7 "h in samples from France and 63.7 ";P in those from Spain KEY WORDS-Mytilus galloprovinclaljs . Mytlllcola ~ntestinalis . UI-astoma cyprinae . Paras~tology Epidemiology

Monitoring of infections by Protozoa of the genera Nematopsis, Perkinsus and Porospora in the smooth venus clam Callista chione from the North-Western Adriatic Sea (Italy)

“…We observed a large number of oocysts in some infected Callista chione specimens; however, the branchial tissues of C. chione were never as densely occupied by broad oocyst clusters as we frequently saw in Chamelea gallina (Canestri-Trotti et al 1998b). The mean prevalence (39.7%) was lower than that we have reported in C. gallina (96.5%); conversely, it was remarkably higher than that reported in Mytilus galloprovincialis (7%) (Canestri-Trotti et al 1999a) and in Ruditapes philippinarum (0.6-0.7%) (Canestri-Trotti et al 1999b).…”

Richness and distribution of tropical oyster parasites in two oceans

“…1998; Canestri Trotti et al . 1998; Aguirre-Macedo et al . 2007), while the two pea crabs species are comparatively more host specific and geographically isolated (Campos, 2002; Manning, 1993).…”

“…For the metazoans, all three parasite species are known host generalists. Urastoma cyprinae is known to infect the largest number of hosts in at least five countries (Fleming et al 1981;Goggin and Cannon, 1989;Murina and Solonchenko, 1991;Cáceres-Martínez et al 1998;Canestri Trotti et al 1998;Aguirre-Macedo et al 2007), while the two pea crabs species are comparatively more host specific and geographically isolated (Campos, 2002;Manning, 1993). These broader observations match the results of this study, with U. cyprinae infecting more hosts than the two pea crab species.…”

New Insights into the Apoptotic Process in Mollusks: Characterization of Caspase Genes in Mytilus galloprovincialis

“…High caspase expression values were also seen in the gills, where apoptosis could play a role similar to the role in the gut. Gills are exposed to environmental conditions and pollutants, and are also affected by parasites [45], [46], [48], which can cause pathological reactions in this tissue, such as disorganization of the gill filaments, leading to a reduction of the feeding capacity of the mussel [49]. Caspase gene expression in hemocytes was also high, as previously described [18], [19], which is not surprising given that the hemocytes are the immune cells in bivalves and apoptosis has been described as a host defense mechanism against parasites, viral and bacterial pathogens [5], [6], [18].…”