Multiple Non-Species-Specific Pathogens Possibly Triggered the Mass Mortality in <i>Pinna nobilis</i>

oleh: Fabio Scarpa, Daria Sanna, Ilenia Azzena, Davide Mugetti, Francesco Cerruti, Sepideh Hosseini, Piero Cossu, Stefania Pinna, Daniele Grech, David Cabana, Viviana Pasquini, Giuseppe Esposito, Nicoletta Cadoni, Fabrizio Atzori, Elisabetta Antuofermo, Piero Addis, Leonardo Antonio Sechi, Marino Prearo, Simone Peletto, Marianna A. Mossa, Tiziana Saba, Vittorio Gazale, Marco Casu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-10-01

Deskripsi

The fan mussel, <i>Pinna nobilis</i>, represents the largest bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2016, dramatic mass mortality of this species has been observed in several areas. The first surveys suggested that <i>Haplosporidium pinnae</i> (currently considered species-specific) was the main etiological agent, but recent studies have indicated that a multifactorial disease may be responsible for this phenomenon. In this study, we performed molecular diagnostic analyses on <i>P. nobilis</i>, <i>P. rudis</i>, and bivalve heterologous host species from the island of Sardinia to shed further light on the pathogens involved in the mass mortality. The results support the occurrence of a multifactorial disease and that <i>Mycobacterium</i> spp. and <i>H. pinnae</i> are not necessarily associated with the illness. Indeed, our analyses revealed that <i>H. pinnae</i> is not species-specific for <i>P. nobilis</i>, as it was present in other bivalves at least three years before the mass mortality began, and species of <i>Mycobacterium</i> were also found in healthy individuals of <i>P. nobilis</i> and <i>P. rudis</i>. We also detected the species <i>Rhodococcus erythropolis</i>, representing the first report in fan mussels of a bacterium other than <i>Mycobacterium</i> spp. and <i>Vibrio</i> spp. These results depict a complicated scenario, further demonstrating how the <i>P. nobilis</i> mass mortality event is far from being fully understood.