Discovery of the parasite Marteilia cocosarum sp. nov. In common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) fisheries in Wales, UK and its comparison with Marteilia cochillia.

Diseases of bivalve molluscs caused by paramyxid parasites of the genus Marteilia have been linked to mass mortalities and the collapse of commercially important shellfish populations. Until recently, no Marteilia spp. have been detected in common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) populations in the British Isles.

First Detection of Infecting a Wild Population of Blue Mussels in the United Kingdom.

In the last decade, declines in the population of wild blue mussels in the Tamar estuary (United Kingdom) have been noted. In archived samples collected from 2013 to 2019, between 7% (in 2013) and 18% (in 2019) showed large granulocytoma and haemocytic infiltration in the interstitial tissue of the digestive gland. Four samples were selected for gene Nanopore sequencing.

Identification and Full Characterisation of Two Novel Crustacean Infecting Members of the Family Provides Support for Two Subfamilies.

Multiple enveloped viruses with rod-shaped nucleocapsids have been described, infecting the epithelial cell nuclei within the hepatopancreas tubules of crustaceans. These bacilliform viruses share the ultrastructural characteristics of nudiviruses, a specific clade of viruses infecting arthropods. Using histology, electron microscopy and high throughput sequencing, we characterise two further bacilliform viruses from aquatic hosts, the brown shrimp () and the European shore crab ().

Improved high throughput protocol for targeting eukaryotic symbionts in metazoan and eDNA samples.

Eukaryote symbionts of animals are major drivers of ecosystems not only because of their diversity and host interactions from variable pathogenicity but also through different key roles such as commensalism and to different types of interdependence. However, molecular investigations of metazoan eukaryomes require minimising coamplification of homologous host genes. In this study we (1) identified a previously published "antimetazoan" reverse primer to theoretically enable amplification of a wider range of microeukaryotic symbionts, including more evolutionarily divergent sequence types, (2) evaluated in silico several antimetazoan primer combinations, and (3) optimised the application of the best performing primer pair for high throughput sequencing (HTS) by comparing one-step and two-step PCR amplification approaches, testing different annealing temperatures and evaluating the taxonomic profiles produced by HTS and data analysis.

A New Family of DNA Viruses Causing Disease in Crustaceans from Diverse Aquatic Biomes.

Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) is the only known virus infecting the Caribbean spiny lobster () from the Caribbean Sea. Recently, related viruses, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes virus 1 (DhV1) and Carcinus maenas virus 1 (CmV1), have been detected in the demon shrimp () and the European shore crab (), respectively, from sites in the United Kingdom. The virion morphology of these crustacean viruses is similar to that of iridoviruses.

Palladium release from catalytic converter materials induced by road de-icer components chloride and ferrocyanide.

Environmental levels of platinum group elements (PGEs) are rising due to emissions of vehicle catalytic converter (VCC) materials containing palladium, platinum and rhodium. When these PGE-containing VCC materials are exposed to soil and water, coordination complex formation with ligands present in the environment may mobilize PGEs into solution, particularly Pd. Road de-icing salt contains two ligands with high affinities for Pd: chloride (Cl) from NaCl and cyanide (CN) from ferrocyanide (Fe(CN)) anti-caking agents.

Green crab Carcinus maenas symbiont profiles along a North Atlantic invasion route.

The green crab Carcinus maenas is an invader on the Atlantic coast of Canada and the USA. In these locations, crab populations have facilitated the development of a legal fishery in which C. maenas is caught and sold, mainly for use as bait to capture economically important crustaceans such as American lobster Homarus americanus.

A new phylogeny and environmental DNA insight into paramyxids: an increasingly important but enigmatic clade of protistan parasites of marine invertebrates.

Paramyxida is an order of rhizarian protists that parasitise marine molluscs, annelids and crustaceans. They include notifiable pathogens (Marteilia spp.) of bivalves and other taxa of economic significance for shellfish production.

Cucumispora ornata n. sp. (Fungi: Microsporidia) infecting invasive 'demon shrimp' (Dikerogammarus haemobaphes) in the United Kingdom.

Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, the 'demon shrimp', is an amphipod native to the Ponto-Caspian region. This species invaded the UK in 2012 and has become widely established. Dikerogammarus haemobaphes has the potential to introduce non-native pathogens into the UK, creating a potential threat to native fauna.

Transcriptomic responses of European flounder (Platichthys flesus) liver to a brominated flame retardant mixture.

Male European flounder (Platichthys flesus) were exposed to a technical mixture of brominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs, DE-71, Pentamix) that had been purified to remove contaminating dioxins. Controls were exposed to carrier solvent alone. Fish were exposed to decadally increasing concentrations of Pentamix via both sediment and spiked food.

Characterisation of the genomes of four putative vesiculoviruses: tench rhabdovirus, grass carp rhabdovirus, perch rhabdovirus and eel rhabdovirus European X.

The complete coding sequences were determined for four putative vesiculoviruses isolated from fish. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis based on the predicted amino acid sequences of the five main proteins assigned tench rhabdovirus and grass carp rhabdovirus together with spring viraemia of carp and pike fry rhabdovirus to a lineage that was distinct from the mammalian vesiculoviruses. Perch rhabdovirus, eel virus European X, lake trout rhabdovirus 903/87 and sea trout virus were placed in a second lineage that was also distinct from the recognised genera in the family Rhabdoviridae.

Zoonotic disease pathogens in fish used for pedicure.

“Doctor” fish might not be such good doctors after all. These fish are used for the increasingly popular spa treatment called fish pedicures. During these sessions, spa patrons immerse their feet in water, allowing the live fish to feed on dead skin, mainly for cosmetic reasons.

Development of a real-time PCR assay for the identification of Gyrodactylus parasites infecting salmonids in northern Europe.

Gyrodactylus salaris is a monogenean freshwater parasite that causes high mortality in wild Atlantic salmon, and a number of countries employ monitoring programmes for its presence. A TaqMan-MGB (minor groove binding) probe real-time multiplex assay targeting the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA) was developed to simultaneously identify G. salaris/G.