Article
Fisheries
Heloise Gendre, Yosra Ben Cheikh, Frank Le Foll, Alain Geffard, Melissa Palos Ladeiro
Summary: This study compared the sensitivity of cellular immunomarkers to chemical stressors combined with bacterial challenge in two mussel species from different environments. The results showed that the two mussel species had different basal levels and responded differently to chemical exposure and bacterial challenge. This work highlights the species-specific sensitivity of mussel immunomarkers to contaminants and the necessity of considering the presence of non-pathogenic microorganisms in future in situ applications.
FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rihab Jaouani, Coraline Roman, Justine Decaix, Fabienne Lagarde, Amelie Chatel
Summary: The effects of aging microplastics (MPs) made of polyethylene (PE) were investigated in the marine mussel Mytilus edulis, which is commonly used as a bioindicator, through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Gene expression levels related to detoxification, immune system, cytoskeleton, and cell cycle control were evaluated using quantitative RT-qPCR. The study found differential expression levels depending on the state of plastic degradation (aged vs non-aged) and method of exposure (in vitro vs in vivo). The study highlights the usefulness of molecular biomarkers based on gene expression analysis in an ecotoxicological context, providing indication of relative slight changes compared to other biochemical approaches. In addition, in vitro analysis can generate a large amount of data on the toxicological effects of MPs.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Efflam Guillou, Carole Cyr, Nicolas Toupoint, Rejean Tremblay
Summary: Bivalve aquaculture in nearshore sites has expanded worldwide. Mussel farming productivity is commonly assumed to depend on survival and growth performance, which can be highly variable among spat stocks originating from different sites, even at a microgeographical scale. Offshore conditions clearly enhanced overall growth performance independently of stock origin, as shown by the higher condition indexes, higher energy lipids (triacylglycerol), and generally higher glycogen content in mussels at the end of the production cycle. The observed survival (+23%) and growth (+27%) trends support the hypothesis that offshore cultivation represents a valuable strategy for mussel aquaculture development.
AQUACULTURE REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Matthew Bennion, Liam Morrison, Roseanne Shelley, Conor Graham
Summary: The global reliance on seafood as a source of animal protein is increasing, with a shift towards farmed produce over wild caught due to various factors. Despite rising production, factors like disease outbreaks, toxic algae blooms, pollution, and food fraud continue to pose risks to the market, highlighting the need for accurate traceability tools for regulators to ensure consumer safety and trust. Techniques like trace element fingerprinting show promise in identifying the location and date of harvest of bivalve shellfish, providing a reliable scientific-based tool for seafood regulators to maintain food safety standards.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Ran Xin, Lixin Ma, Rong Liu, Xuhui Huang, Baoshang Fu, Xiuping Dong, Lei Qin
Summary: Lipid oxidation and the Maillard reaction are two important reactions that affect the flavor of heat-processed foods. This study investigates the effect of polar and nonpolar lipids on the flavor of mussel Maillard reaction products (MRPs) using sensory evaluation, electronic tongue, electronic nose, UPLC-MS, and GC-MS. The results show that polar lipid MRPs have the highest scores in sensory evaluation. Flavor compounds detected in the MRPs include inorganic sulfides, organic sulfides, and nitrogen oxides. GC-MS detects aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones, while UPLC-MS detects non-volatile compounds such as amino acids and oligopeptides. The study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the production of mussel MRPs.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qiao Li, Fang Zhang, Song Sun
Summary: This study investigates the response of the blue mussel to sustained hypoxia. The experiment finds that the survival rate of mussels is closely related to dissolved oxygen levels, with a critical threshold of approximately 0.7-0.8 mg L-1. When combined with DO fluctuations or poor water quality, the threshold rises to an average of DO 1.0 mg L-1.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christian Selbach, Loic Marchant, Kim N. Mouritsen
Summary: Fear plays a crucial role in predator-prey interactions and can have cascading impacts on ecosystems. Recent research has shown that hosts and parasites can also exhibit fear effects, but empirical examples are lacking. This study tests whether bivalves can "learn to fear" the infective transmission stages of a parasite and if experienced mussels change their behavior accordingly. The results indicate that previous parasite experiences lead to reduced filtration activity in the presence of the parasite, resulting in lower infection rates.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Dongdong Wang, Nelia Mbewe, Lobke De Bels, Liesbeth Couck, Gilbert Van Stappen, Wim Van den Broeck, Nancy Nevejan
Summary: By tagging pathogenic Vibrio strains with green fluorescence protein, a new pathogenesis of vibriosis in bivalve larvae was identified. The pathogens entered the larval digestive organs rapidly, inducing necrosis and eventually leading to larval death. This study lays a foundation for further research on gastrointestinal morphology after anti-Vibrio therapy introduction in aquaculture.
Article
Ecology
Ralph J. M. Temmink, Gregory S. Fivash, Laura L. Govers, Janne Nauta, Beatriz Marin-Diaz, Peter M. J. M. Cruijsen, Karin Didderen, Emma Penning, Han Olff, Jannes H. T. Heusinkveld, Leon P. M. Lamers, Wouter Lengkeek, Marjolijn J. A. Christianen, Valerie C. Reijers, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Tjisse van der Heide
Summary: Coastal ecosystems worldwide are degrading rapidly, prompting a new life cycle informed restoration approach to be tested on a large scale using blue mussel reefs as a model. Results showed that temporary use of biodegradable structures successfully enhanced mussel biomass formation, but technical challenges were encountered at larger scales, emphasizing the need for testing under extreme conditions before upscaling.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Helene Bouras, Yann Quesnelle, Alix Barozet, Didier Goux, Jean-Louis Blin, Manuel Savary, Celine Zatylny-Gaudin, Maryline Houssin
Summary: Mass mortality events of blue mussels Mytilus edulis in France since 2014 have been caused by the bacterium Francisella halioticida, with DNA of this pathogen recently detected in mussels from affected areas. Different strains of F. halioticida were identified through genetic sequencing and analysis. One particular strain, FR21, showed distinct differences from other published strains and was found to be non-virulent towards adult mussels.
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Coraline Roman, Pauline Mahe, Oihana Latchere, Charlotte Catrouillet, Julien Gigault, Isabelle Metais, Amelie Chatel
Summary: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of plastic particles found in the environment on marine mussels. The study found that different immune and cytotoxicity responses were observed after exposure to plastic particles in vivo and in vitro. This suggests that in vitro studies may serve as predictors of in vivo exposure effects.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY C-TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Laura Steeves, Antonio Aguera, Ramon Filgueira, Oivind Strand, Tore Strohmeier
Summary: The purpose of this study was to determine if the blue mussel Mytilus edulis can maintain constant ingestion rates by changing feeding rates in response to fluctuations in natural diets. The results showed significant individual variability in pumping rates and no correlation between pumping rate and food availability. However, population-level ingestion rates increased with increasing food availability.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yongshun Jiang, You Wang, Tianli Sun, Keyu Lu, Xinyu Zhao, Zhipeng Zhang, Mengchen Lv, Chunchen Liu, Bin Zhou
Summary: The study revealed the relationship between assimilation, allocation, and consumption of energy in blue mussel Mytilus edulis coping with tetrabromodiphenyl ether, and the impact of this energy alteration on physiological processes. Results showed that exposure to tetrabromodiphenyl ether reduced energy absorption, increased energy consumption, and affected energy allocation and metabolism. The mussel adopted different energy strategies in response to stress, with significant effects on growth and survival.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mengxue Xu, Yaya Zhang, Sai Cao, Yuanyuan Li, Jiayi Wang, Huihui Dong, You Wang
Summary: This study investigated the toxic effects of cesium on the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. The results showed that cesium caused damage to the tissues and cells of the mussels, with the most affected tissues being hemolymph, gills, and digestive glands. In addition, cesium also interfered with the feeding, metabolism, and immune function of the mussels.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Igor Bakhmet, Dmitriy Aristov, Julia Marchenko, Kirill Nikolaev
Summary: This study compared the physiology of the invasive blue mussel species Mytilus trossulus and the native Mytilus edulis in the White Sea. The invasive species showed higher heart rate and variability, while the native species exhibited higher thermal tolerance.
JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
L. Mark Hewitt, James W. Roy, Steve J. Rowland, Greg Bickerton, Amila DeSilva, John Headley, Craig B. Milestone, Alan G. Scarlett, Susan Brown, Christine Spencer, Charles E. West, Kerry M. Peru, Lee Grapentine, Jason M. E. Ahad, Hooshang Pakdel, Richard A. Frank
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Antonio Sarno, Kjell Olafsen, Stephan Kubowicz, Fuad Karimov, Shannen T. L. Sait, Lisbet Sorensen, Andy M. Booth
Summary: This study developed and validated a rapid method to generate environmentally relevant polyester (PET) microplastic fiber (MPF) reference material with controllable levels of degradation. Alkaline hydrolysis provided linearly increasing degrees of degraded PET MPFs over just a few hours, with full decomposition into molecular fragments occurring after 3 hours. The proposed accelerated hydrolysis degradation method is relevant for producing partially degraded PET MPF reference materials for use in fate and effect studies.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vincent Fauvelle, Marc Garel, Christian Tamburini, David Nerini, Javier Castro-Jimenez, Natascha Schmidt, Andrea Paluselli, Armand Fahs, Laure Papillon, Andy M. Booth, Richard Sempere
Summary: The study shows that increasing hydrostatic pressure inhibits the leaching of heavy organic additives from plastic materials in abiotic conditions, while marine prokaryotes promote the release of all targeted additives. It provides evidence for more efficient additive release at the ocean surface than in deep seawater, where most plastic debris is expected to pass through before reaching the sediment compartment. Plastics are significant marine pollutants, and research indicates that they can release potentially harmful additives into seawater, with environmental conditions playing a role in this process.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Miroslaw Kwiatkowski, Jaroslaw Serafin, Andy M. Booth, Beata Michalkiewicz
Summary: This study presents the computer analysis results of the microporous structure development of activated carbon derived from common polypody leaves at different activation temperatures. The unconventional LBET method was used for porous structure analysis, showing the highest CO2 adsorption capacity at 900 degrees Celsius. The LBET method comprehensively and reliably describes the porous structure of activated carbon material.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefania Piarulli, Bjorn Henrik Hansen, Tomasz Ciesielski, Anna-Lena Zocher, Arne Malzahn, Pal A. Olsvik, Christian Sonne, Trond Nordtug, Bjorn Munro Jenssen, Andy M. Booth, Julia Farkas
Summary: Rare earth elements and yttrium are critical elements with potential environmental impacts when released into marine ecosystems. Current research gaps exist in understanding the distribution and effects of anthropogenic REY, particularly at the organismal level, highlighting the need for further scientific attention and risk assessment in marine environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mingyu Zhang, Yan Lin, Andy M. Booth, Xikun Song, Yaozong Cui, Bin Xia, Zhangjie Gu, Yifan Li, Fengjiao Liu, Minggang Cai
Summary: This study investigates the fate, sources, and mass budget of microplastics in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. The results show that river discharge and maritime activities are the main pathways for microplastics to enter these seas, and most of the microplastics are deposited in sediments. The study highlights the importance of sedimentary microplastics in preventing further transport to the Pacific Ocean.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alan G. Scarlett, Robert K. Nelson, Marthe Monique Gagnon, Alex Holman, Christopher M. Reddy, Paul A. Sutton, Kliti Grice
Summary: The MV Wakashio oil spill involved 1000 t of VLSFO, which has lower aromatic content compared to traditional fuel oil, potentially resulting in less harm to ecosystems. This incident is the first documented spill involving VLSFO.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francis Spilsbury, Alan Scarlett, Kliti Grice, Marthe Monique Gagnon
Summary: This study described the responses of Asian seabass exposed to heavy fuel oil and Australian medium crude oil, with principal components analysis used to differentiate between fish exposed to the two types of oil. Inferences about the composition of an oil can be made from the biomarker profiles produced in exposed fish.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jamila Patterson, K. Immaculate Jeyasanta, R. L. Laju, Andy M. Booth, Narmatha Sathish, J. K. Patterson Edward
Summary: This study assessed the abundance, characteristics, sources, and ecological risk of microplastics (MPs) in the Gulf of Mannar (GoM), southeast India. The results showed that polyethylene and polypropylene were the most common polymers in the region, and a majority of the MPs originated from land-based sources. While the GoM had a high hazard score for MPs, the overall pollution level and ecological risk were relatively low.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Robert K. Nelson, Julia Forsythe, Christiane Eiserbeck, Alan G. Scarlett, Kliti Grice, Oliver C. Mullins, Christopher M. Reddy
Summary: Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-HRT) was used to explore and compare the chemical complexity of hopanoids and degradation products of hopanoid parent molecules in the heavy oil rim of a large Middle East oilfield. Various useful transformation products were identified, providing important information for investigating reservoir complexities.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Robert K. Nelson, Alan G. Scarlett, Marthe Monique Gagnon, Alex I. Holman, Christopher M. Reddy, Paul A. Sutton, Kliti Grice
Summary: This study characterized different sulfur content fuels that comply with the International Marine Organization’s 2020 Global Sulfur Cap using various analytical techniques. The research found that the fuels could be differentiated by comparing their molecular biomarkers and spectra, providing valuable forensic data for future oil spill incidents.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Sebastian Primpke, Andy M. Booth, Gunnar Gerdts, Alessio Gomiero, Tanja Koegel, Amy Lusher, Jakob Strand, Barbara M. Scholz-Boettcher, Francois Galgani, Jennifer Provencher, Stefano Aliani, Shreyas Patankarl, Katrin Vorkamp
Summary: The pollution caused by plastics in the environment, including the Arctic region, is a growing concern globally. While larger plastic pieces are easily noticeable, the presence of smaller microplastics poses a threat to Arctic biota and human health. This review discusses the analytical tools, quality assurance, and quality control measures necessary for the identification, quantification, and characterization of microplastics in the Arctic, as well as the importance of standardized data reporting.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Maximilian J. Huber, Natalia P. Ivleva, Andy M. Booth, Irina Beer, Ivana Bianchi, Roland Drexel, Otmar Geiss, Dora Mehn, Florian Meier, Alicja Molska, Jeremie Parot, Lisbet Sorensen, Gabriele Vella, Adriele Prina-Mello, Robert Vogel, Fanny Caputo
Summary: A comprehensive physicochemical characterization of heterogeneous nanoplastic (NPL) samples remains challenging due to the need for a combination of measurement techniques to improve accuracy and robustness. Various methods including DLS, NTA, TRPS, TEM, SEM, CLS, FFF-MALS, pyGC-MS, and RM were evaluated for NPL size, shape, chemical composition, and quantification. The applicability and limitations of these methods were assessed using representative particles of different chemical natures. The results showed that orthogonal batch methods provided comparable results for monodisperse spherical samples, while deviations were observed in polydisperse and non-spherical particles. Specific techniques such as TRPS and electron microscopy provided increased resolution and morphological information.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lin Zhu, Andy M. Booth, Sulan Feng, Congcong Shang, Hui Xiao, Xuexi Tang, Xuemei Sun, Xinguo Zhao, Bijuan Chen, Keming Qu, Bin Xia
Summary: This study investigated the bioavailability and toxicity of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) to marine microalgae under ultraviolet-B radiation (UVBR). The results showed that UVBR enhanced the growth inhibition caused by TiO2 NPs. Additionally, UVBR and TiO2 NPs exhibited significant antagonistic interaction on the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secreted by the microalgae, allowing more NPs to enter the algal cells. Internalized TiO2 NPs triggered the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, leading to lipid peroxidation and serious cellular damage in the microalgae. Overall, weakened EPS protection was identified as the key mechanism for the enhanced toxicity of TiO2 NPs under UVBR conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-NANO
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emily Cowan, Andy M. Booth, Andreas Misund, Katja Klun, Ana Rotter, Rachel Tiller
Summary: The study conducted workshops and interviews in Norway and Slovenia to identify stakeholder and future generation opinions and strategies for mitigating plastic pollution. Industry stakeholders showed more acceptance of policy and innovation, while future generation stakeholders emphasized consumer behavior in fueling the plastic crisis.