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Veterinarska stanica, Vol. 55 No. 4, 2024.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.46419/vs.55.4.10

Detection of Minchinia mytili DNA in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) after a mass mortality event in the Adriatic Sea

Ivana Giovanna Zupičić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-8479-1502 ; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia *
Dražen Oraić ; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Isabelle Arzul ; French Institute for Ocean Science, La Tremblade, France
Lydie Canier ; French Institute for Ocean Science, La Tremblade, France
Mathilde Noyer ; French Institute for Ocean Science, La Tremblade, France
Bruno Chollet ; French Institute for Ocean Science, La Tremblade, France
Snježana Zrnčić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0003-4084-5641 ; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

* Corresponding author.

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Abstract

We investigated a mass mortality event of Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Novigrad Sea, Croatia during winter 2022/2023. The mortality rate was up to 70% and was initially linked to an influx of freshwater from the Zrmanja River. Despite mitigation measures that included placing mussels deeper to avoid the influence of freshwater, mortalities continued. Subsequent analysis of 64 samples using cytology, histolology and real-time PCR to exclude listed diseases, yielded negative results. PCR testing for Haplosporidium pinnae revealed the presence of a haplosporidian-like DNA resembling Minchinia mytili. In the study of predominant bacteria, Psychrobacter sp., Colwellia sp., and Vibrio splendidus were detected. Histological examination showed no haplosporidium structures, and in situ hybridisation with probes for detection of Haplosporiidae did not confirmed the presence of M. mytili in mussel tissue. However, our study reports the first detection of M. mytili DNA in the Adriatic Sea, emphasising the need for extensive research and further analysis to determine the exact cause of these mass mortality events and the origin of the haplosporidium DNA.

Keywords

Minchinia mytili; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Croatian Adriatic coast

Hrčak ID:

310069

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/310069

Publication date:

2.11.2023.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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