Publications by authors named "Virginia A Bianchi"

Copper is a water and sediment pollutant that can be biomagnified by phytoplankton, and it often co-occurs with fecal bacteria. We addressed the combined effects of copper and Escherichia coli on the immune response and gill oxidative balance of the freshwater mussel Diplodon chilensis. Bivalves were sorted into four groups fed with 1) control algae, 2) bacteria (E.

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Global climate change favors explosive population growth events (blooms) of phytoplanktonic species, often producing toxic products, e.g., several genera of cyanobacteria synthesize a family of cyanotoxins called microcystins (MCs).

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Harmful effects caused by the exposure to paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) and bioactive extracellular compounds (BECs) on bivalves are frequently difficult to attribute to one or the other compound group. We evaluate and compare the distinct effects of PSTs extracted from (Alex5) cells and extracellular lytic compounds (LCs) produced by (NX-57-08) on hemocytes. We used a 4 h dose-response in vitro approach and analyzed how these effects correlate with those observed in a previous in vivo feeding assay.

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We studied the absorption, cytotoxicity and oxidative stress markers of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST) from three extracts from Alexandrium catenella and A. ostenfeldii, in middle Oncorhynchus mykiss intestine in vitro and ex vivo preparations. We measured glutathione (GSH) content, glutathione-S transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR) and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activity, and lipid peroxidation in isolated epithelium exposed to 0.

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Multiple toxic and bioactive compounds produced by Alexandrium spp. cause adverse effects on bivalves, but these effects are frequently difficult to attribute to a single compound class. To disentangle the effect of neurotoxic vs lytic secondary metabolites, we exposed blue mussels to either a paralytic shellfish toxin (PST) producing Alexandrium spp.

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The use of a battery of biomarkers, especially those more closely related to species integrity, is desired for more complete ecotoxicological assessments of the effects of pesticide contamination on aquatic organisms. The phosphorodithioate azinphos-methyl has been intensively used in agriculture worldwide and have been found in the habitat of Chilina gibbosa, a freshwater snail endemic to South America. This snail has been proposed as a good model organism for ecotoxicity bioassays on the basis of studies focused mainly on enzymatic responses in whole tissue homogenates.

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Immune cell characterization, immunological response and the associated gill oxidative balance were studied in the Patagonian freshwater mussel, Diplodon chilensis, using two microbiological immunostimulant models: Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli. Mussels were collected out of the breeding season in Paimún Lake and acclimated in the laboratory. Two exposure experiments were performed during two consecutive weeks: (1) mussels challenged with 500 yeast cells mL; and (2) mussels challenged with 1000 bacteria cells mL.

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The aim of the present study was to characterize the immune response-total hemocyte number, cell type proportion, hemocyte viability, lysosomal membrane stability, phagocytic activity, cellular acid and alkaline phosphatase activity, and humoral bacteriolytic and phenoloxidase activity--in Diplodon chilensis exposed to 0.2 mg/L of azinphos-methyl (AZM), using Escherichia coli as immunological and pro-oxidant challenges. In addition, glutathione-S-transferase and lipid peroxidation thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were analyzed in gill tissue.

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Accumulation and toxicity of cyanobacterial toxins, particularly microcystin-LR (MCLR) have been extensively studied in fish and aquatic invertebrates. However, MCLR excretion mechanisms, which could reduce this toxin's effects, have received little attention. The Patagonian silverside, Odontesthes hatcheri, is an omnivorous-planktivorous edible fish, which has been shown to digest cyanobacterial cells absorbing MCLR and eliminating the toxin within 48h without suffering significant toxic effects.

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In order to test if orally supplied Euglena sp. cells modulate the physiological status of bivalves during bioremediation procedures, we evaluated the effect of Euglena gracilis diet on the immune response, oxidative balance and metabolic condition of Diplodon chilensis exposed to sewage water pollution. Mussels were fed for 90 days with E.

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We evaluated the modulating effect of long-term feeding with lyophilized Euglena gracilis cells on immune response, oxidative balance and metabolic condition of the freshwater mussel Diplodon chilensis. Mussels, previously fed with Scenedesmus vacuolatus (SV) or E. gracilis (EG) for 90 days, were challenged with an environmentally relevant concentration of Escherichia coli in water for 5 days, under feeding or starvation conditions.

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Field and laboratory experiments were combined to evaluate biomarker responses of Diplodon chilensis to sewage pollution. Mussels from an unpolluted area in Lacar lake (S0) were caged at a reference site (S1) and at two sites with increasing sewage pollution (S2, S3) in Pocahullo river (all in Argentina). After 1 month, gill (g) glutathione S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) activities, and lipid peroxidation (TBARS) were found to be significantly elevated in S3, gGST being positively correlated with fecal bacteria (FC) concentration.

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Deleterious effects on health and fitness are expected in mussels chronically exposed to sewage water pollution. Diplodon chilensis inhabiting SMA, an area affected by untreated and treated sewage water, shows increased hemocyte number and phagocytic activity, while bacteriolytic and phenoloxidase activities in plasma and reactive oxygen species production in hemocytes are lower compared to mussels from an unpolluted area (Yuco). There are not differences in cell viability, lysosomal membrane stability, lipid peroxidation and total oxygen scavenging capacity between SMA and Yuco mussels' hemocytes.

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We studied accumulation and biochemical effects of microcystin-LR (MCLR) in Odontesthes hatcheri after dietary administration of the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa (1.3 μg MCLR/g body mass, incorporated in standard fish food). After 12 h, MCLR content in liver did not differ between fish fed with crushed or intact cells, demonstrating O.

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