Pathological conditions of the sentinel bivalve, the little mussel Brachidontes rodriguezii, from contaminated intertidal sites in the Southwestern Atlantic coast.
J Invertebr Pathol
; 184: 107654, 2021 09.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34389406
ABSTRACT
A survey of pathological conditions affecting the natural beds of the dominant bivalve species of the intertidal rocky coasts of the Southern Atlantic Ocean, was performed. Samples of the little mussel (n = 992), Brachidontes rodriguezii, which is considered a sentinel species, were collected from seven sites that present different anthropogenic activity (low anthropogenic activity, harbor, and sewage waste) along the Argentinean coast, and processed by standard histological techniques. Our results showed for the first time in a B. rodriguezii population from Mar del Plata harbor a bacterium causing cellular lysis of the spermatogenic cells (6.5% of prevalence) and in a population from Villa Gesell, a site with low anthropogenic activity, one little mussel presented cytoplasmic vacuoles in the oocytes's cytoplasm similar to a microsporidian (0.2% of prevalence). A ciliated protozoan parasitizing the cytoplasm of the epithelial digestive tubules and larval stages of two different digenean parasites, was found infecting the little mussel from both contaminated and uncontaminated sites. Sporocysts of the family Bucephalidae invaded the gonad, causing severe gonadal damage including castration, and gymnophallid metacercariae located between the mantle and shell or embedded in the mantle tissues, occupied the gonadal space. In Punta Carballido, a site located next to a sewage outfall, the highest prevalence of infection was found, for the ciliated protozoan in the digestive tubules (5.1%) and for the digenean parasites (bucephalid sporocyst 24.4%, and gymnophallid metacercariae 50%). Moreover, we found a positive correlation between shell length and overall prevalence of parasites.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Trematoda
/
Microsporidia
/
Ciliophora
/
Mytilidae
/
Host-Parasite Interactions
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Argentina
Language:
En
Journal:
J Invertebr Pathol
Year:
2021
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Argentina