Isotopic characteristics of shells Mytilus galloprovincialis from eastern coastal area of Adriatic Sea

Tetrodotoxins (TTXs), potent neurotoxins, have become an increasing concern in Europe in recent decades, especially because of their presence in mollusks. The European Food Safety Authority published a Scientific Opinion setting a recommended threshold for TTX in mollusks of 44 µg equivalent kg−1 and calling all member states to contribute to an effort to gather data in order to produce a more exhaustive risk assessment. The objective of this work was to assess TTX levels in wild and farmed mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) harvested in 2018–2019 along the coastal area of the Marche region in the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy). The presence of Vibrio spp. carrying the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) genes, which are suspected to be involved in TTX biosynthesis, was also investigated. Out of 158 mussel samples analyzed by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS), 11 (7%) contained the toxins at detectable levels (8–26 µg kg−1) and 3 (2%) contained levels above the EFSA safety threshold (61–76 µg kg−1). Contaminated mussels were all harvested from natural beds in spring or summer. Of the 2019 samples, 70% of them contained V. alginolyticus strains with the NRPS and/or PKS genes. None of the strains containing NRPS and/or PKS genes showed detectable levels of TTXs. TTXs in mussels are not yet a threat in the Marche region nor in Europe, but further investigations are surely needed.

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On the quantitative distribution and community structure of the meio and macrofaunal communities in the coastal area of the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy)

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment ◽

10.1007/s10661-010-1791-y ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 180 (1-4) ◽

pp. 325-344 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Fabrizio Frontalini ◽

Federica Semprucci ◽

Rodolfo Coccioni ◽

Maria Balsamo ◽

Paolo Bittoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Coastal Area ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Quantitative Distribution

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Presence and survival of Staphylococcus aureus in the coastal area of Split (Adriatic Sea)

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/0025-326x(94)90305-0 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 28 (11) ◽

pp. 696-700 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mladen Šolić ◽

Nada Krstulović

Keyword(s):

Staphylococcus Aureus ◽

Coastal Area ◽

Adriatic Sea

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Physiological testing of Mytilus galloprovincialis for the environmental assessing of coastal marine areas: a case study in Boka Kotorska Bay (the Adriatic Sea)

Chemistry and Ecology ◽

10.1080/02757540.2019.1618282 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (7) ◽

pp. 631-643

Author(s):

Sergey Kholodkevich ◽

Andrey Sharov ◽

Tatiana Kuznetsova ◽

Anton Kurakin ◽

Danijela Joksimović ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mytilus Galloprovincialis ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Coastal Marine ◽

Marine Areas

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Occurrence of Vibrio and other pathogenic bacteria in Mytilus galloprovincialis (mussels) harvested from Adriatic Sea, Italy

International Journal of Food Microbiology ◽

10.1016/s0168-1605(99)00056-2 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 49 (1-2) ◽

pp. 43-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Giancarlo Ripabelli ◽

Michela Lucia Sammarco ◽

Guido Maria Grasso ◽

Incoronata Fanelli ◽

Alfredo Caprioli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pathogenic Bacteria ◽

Mytilus Galloprovincialis ◽

Adriatic Sea

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Trace Element Concentrations in Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Gulf of Trieste, Slovenia

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-18-378 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 429-434 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

ZLATKA BAJC ◽

ANDREJ KIRBIŠ

Keyword(s):

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Mytilus Galloprovincialis ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Sampling Site ◽

Maximum Level ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Northern Adriatic Sea ◽

Potential Health ◽

Northern Adriatic ◽

Inductively Coupled

ABSTRACT The concentrations of the trace elements zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and iron (Fe) were examined in Mediterranean blue mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Northern Adriatic Sea to determine whether there were site differences and seasonal variations in metal concentrations and to evaluate the potential health risks of consumption of these mussels to humans. Mussels were collected between January and October 2015 from three Slovenian shellfish harvesting areas and from a lighthouse near Debeli Rtič. The concentrations of elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The amount of each element decreased in the following order: Fe > Zn > (As, Mn) > (Cu, Cr) > (Ni, Co) > (Cd, Pb) > Hg. Statistical analysis revealed that time, that is, the month of sampling, significantly affected the concentrations of elements in mussels (P < 0.05). The concentrations of Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Hg, and Pb were highest between January and March and lowest between May and September. The concentrations of other elements in mussels were not higher or lower for several consecutive months, but occasionally (some months) lower or higher content was detected. The sampling site had a statistically significant effect only on the content of Cd, Pb, and Hg in mussels (P < 0.05). The lowest level of these elements was found in mussels from Seča, and the highest levels of Hg and Pb were found in mussels from Debeli Rtič. Debeli Rtič is, among all sampling points, closest to the outflow of the Soča River that brings heavy metals into the Northern Adriatic Sea from a closed Hg mine. Because the concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Hg in all analyzed samples were below the maximum level permitted by Commission Regulation No 1881/2006, mussels were suitable for human consumption.

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Preliminary study on the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern related to the genotype of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated in the north-western Adriatic Sea coastal area

Italian Journal of Food Safety ◽

10.4081/ijfs.2017.6843 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patrizia Serratore ◽

Emanuele Zavatta ◽

Eleonora Fiocchi ◽

Emanuele Serafini ◽

Andrea Serraino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

16S Rrna ◽

Antimicrobial Susceptibility ◽

Coastal Area ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Vibrio Vulnificus ◽

Clinical Laboratory ◽

Diffusion Method ◽

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern ◽

The North ◽

North Western

V. vulnificus is a Gram-negative bacterium, commonly found in estuarine and coastal habitats, that can infect humans through seafood consumption or wound exposure. This study represents the first attempt to correlate the genotype of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated in the north-western Adriatic Sea coastal area, with their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. On the whole, 40 V. vulnificus strains, isolated from shellfish (n=20), different coastal water bodies (n=19), and the blood of a Carretta carretta turtle (n=1), were utilized. All strains were positive for the species-specific genes vvhA and hsp, with high variability for other markers: 55% (22 out of 40) resulted of the environmental (E) genotype (vcgE, 16S rRNA type A, CPS2 or CPS0), 10% (4 out of 40) of the clinical (C) genotype (vcgC, 16S rRNA type B, CPS1), and 35% (14 out of 40) of the mixed (M) genotype, possessing both E and C markers. The antimicrobial susceptibility was assayed by the diffusion method on agar, according to the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), utilizing the following commercial disks (Oxoid): ampicillin (AMP), ampicillin- sulbactam (SAM), piperacillin (PRL), cefazolin (KZ), cefotaxime(CTX), ceftazidime( CAZ), imipenem (IPM), meropenem (MEM), amikacin (AK), gentamicin(CN), tetracycline(TE), ciprofloxacin (CIP), levofloxacin (LEV), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT), and chloramphenicol (C). 75% of the strains, (n=30) including all C strains, was sensitive to all the tested antibiotics, whereas E strains showed intermediate sensitivity to AK (2 strains), CIP and CAZ (1 strain), TE (1 strain) and resistance to KZ (1 strain), and 4 M strains showed I to AK.

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The Impact of Possible Mercury Source-Point Contamination in the Coastal Area of Skiathos Island

Environmental Sciences Proceedings ◽

10.3390/environsciproc2020002050 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 50

Author(s):

Alexandra Spyropoulou ◽

Chrysi Laspidou ◽

Kostantinos Kormas ◽

Yannis G. Lazarou

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Field Experiment ◽

Mercury Concentration ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Coastal Area ◽

Mytilus Galloprovincialis ◽

Mercury Contamination ◽

Reference Station ◽

The Impact ◽

Mercury Monitoring

In Skiathos Island the water is not potable due to mercury contamination and salinization. The mercury’s origin is natural due to the existence of cinnabar in the Skiathos aquifer as a mineral in the Earth’s crust. The possibility of mercury contaminants ending up in the coastal area was investigated through a field experiment. Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were employed as mercury monitoring biomarkers at the outflow of the wastewater treatment of the island. Using the RNA:DNA ratio, it was revealed that the organisms were stressed after three months of exposure to Skiathos’ coastal waters. The mercury concentration was directly measured at the bulk mussels’ tissue showing differences between the station located at the outflow of the WWT and the reference station. Although the results may imply mercury contamination in the coastal area of the island, the precise origin of the mercury in mussels is difficult to define.

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