Marine Strategy Framework Directive. task group 8 : report contaminants and pollution effects

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD) requires that the European Commission (by 15 July 2010) should lay down criteria and methodological standards to allow consistency in approach in evaluating the extent to which Good Environmental Status (GES) is being achieved. ICES and JRC were contracted to provide scientific support for the Commission in meeting this obligation. A total of 10 reports have been prepared relating to the descriptors of GES listed in Annex I of the Directive. Eight reports have been prepared by groups of independent experts coordinated by JRC and ICES in response to this contract. In addition, reports for two descriptors (Contaminants in fish and other seafood and Marine Litter) were written by expert groups coordinated by DG SANCO and IFREMER respectively. A Task Group was established for each of the qualitative Descriptors. Each Task Group consisted of selected experts providing experience related to the four marine regions (the Baltic Sea, the North-east Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea) and an appropriate scope of relevant scientific expertise. Observers from the Regional Seas Conventions were also invited to each Task Group to help ensure the inclusion of relevant work by those Conventions. This is the report of Task Group 8 Contaminants and pollution effects.

Genetic diversity analysis of isolates belonging to the Photobacterium phosphoreum species group collected from salmon products using AFLP fingerprinting

An accurate amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method, including three primer sets for the selective amplification step, was developed to display the phylogenetic position of Photobacterium isolates collected from salmon products. This method was efficient for discriminating the three species Photobacterium phosphoreum, Photobacterium iliopiscarium and Photobacterium kishitanii, until now indistinctly gathered in the Photobacterium phosphoreum species group known to be strongly responsible for seafood spoilage. The AFLP fingerprints enabled the isolates to be separated into two main clusters that, according to the type strains, were assigned to the two species P. phosphoreum and P. iliopiscarium. P. kishitanii was not found in the collection. The accuracy of the method was validated by using gyrB-gene sequencing and luxA-gene PCR amplification, which confirmed the species delineation. Most of the isolates of each species were clonally distinct and even those that were isolated from the same source showed some diversity. Moreover, this AFLP method may be an excellent tool for genotyping isolates in bacterial communities and for clarifying our knowledge of the role of the different members of the Photobacterium species group in seafood spoilage.