Oyster (Ostrea edulis) extirpation and ecosystem transformation in the Firth of Forth, Scotland

Marine inshore communities, including biogenic habitats have undergone dramatic changes as a result of exploitation, pollution, land-use changes and introduced species. The Firth of Forth on the east coast of Scotland was once home to the most important oyster (Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758) beds in Scotland. 19th and early 20th century fisheries scientists documented the degradation and loss of these beds, yet transformation of the wider benthic community has been little studied. We undertook archival searches, ecological surveys and shell community analysis using radioisotope dated sediment cores to investigate the history of decline of Forth oyster beds over the last 200 years and the changes to its wider biological communities. Quadrat analysis of the present day benthos reveal that soft-sediment communities dominate the Firth of Forth, with little remaining evidence of past oyster beds in places where abundant shell remains were picked up by a survey undertaken in 1895. Queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis Linnaeus, 1758) and horse mussels (Modiolus modiolus Linnaeus, 1758) were once common within the Forth but have also markedly decreased compared to the earlier survey. Ouranalyses of shell remains suggest that overall mollusc biomass and species richness declined throughout the 19th century and early 20th century, suggesting broader-scale community change as human impacts increased and as habitats degraded. Inshore communities in the Firth of Forth today are less productive and less diverse compared to past states, with evidence suggesting that most of the damage was done by early bottom trawling and dredging activities. Given the pervasive nature of intensive trawling over the past 150 years, the kind of degradation we document for the Firth of Forth is likely to be commonplace within UK inshore communities.

The History of Oyster Farming in Australia

Aboriginal Australians consumed oysters before settlement by Europeans as shown by the large number of kitchen middens along Australia's coast. Flat oysters, Ostrea angasi, were consumed in southeastern Australia, whereas both flat and Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, are found in kitchen middens in southern New South Wales (NSW), but only Sydney rock oysters are found in northern NSW and southern Queensland. Oyster fisheries began with the exploitation of dredge beds, for the use of oyster shell for lime production and oyster meat for consumption. These natural oyster beds were nealy all exhausted by the late 1800's, and they have not recovered. Oyster farming, one of the oldest aquaculture industries in Australia, began as the oyster fisheries declined in the late 1800's. Early attempts at farming flat oysters in Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia, which started in the 1880's, were abandoned in the 1890's. However, a thriving Sydney rock oyster industry developed from primitive beginnings in NSW in the 1870's. Sydney rock oysters are farmed in NSW, southern Queensland, and at Albany, Western Australia (WA). Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, are produced in Tasmania, South Australia, and Port Stephens, NSW. FLant oysters currently are farmed only in NSW, and there is also some small-scale harvesting of tropical species, the coarl rock or milky oyster, S. cucullata, and th black-lip oyster, Striostrea mytiloides, in northern Queensland. Despite intra- and interstate rivalries, oyster farmers are gradually realizing that they are all part of one industry, and this is reflected by the establishment of the national Australian Shellfish Quality Assuarance Program and the transfer of farming technology between states. Australia's oyster harvests have remained relatively stable since Sydney rock oyster production peaked in the mid 1970's at 13 million dozen. By the end of the 1990's this had stabilized at around 8 million dozen, and Pacific oyster production reached a total of 6.5 million dozen from Tasmania, South Australia, and Port Stephens, a total of 14.5 million dozen oysters for the whole country. This small increase in production during a time of substantial human population growth shows a smaller per capita consumption and a declining use of oysters as a "side-dish."

Comunidades macrofaunais bênticas associadas às algas de deriva e à grama marinha Halodule wrightii Ascherson na Ilha do Japonês, Cabo Frio, RJ

As extensas pradarias submersas formadas pelas gramas marinhas são importantes habitats da costa, onde ocorrem interações ecológicas entre diversas espécies da vegetação subaquática, invertebrados bentônicos e peixes. As gramas marinhas e algas de deriva são conhecidas como macrófitas marinhas e, por ocuparem o mesmo tipo de substrato, são normalmente encontradas juntas, proporcionando oxigênio, alimento, proteção, abrigo além de sítios de reprodução e pastagem para os animais associados a essas pradarias. Amostras de algas de deriva e de H. wrightii foram coletadas, ao longo de transectos fixos de 50 m paralelos à Ilha do Japonês, a fim de analisar a existência de relações positivas entre as espécies de macrófitas marinhas e sua macrofauna associada, comparar as duas comunidades e avaliar a estruturação da comunidade macrofaunal bêntica do local. Os transectos foram alocados de acordo com a posição do banco de grama marinha. Observou-se que a densidade de eixos e a biomassa de H. wrightii não explicam a variação da biomassa, riqueza de espécies e diversidade (Índice de Simpson) das algas de deriva. A grande movimentação das algas de deriva ao longo do banco de grama marinha faz com que elas se homogeneízem e ocupem diferentes lugares ao acaso na pradaria, muitos desses locais com baixa biomassa de H. wrightii devido à grande variabilidade na distribuição dessa espécie no local de estudo. Os descritores ecológicos da grama marinha também não tiveram relações positivas com sua macrofauna bêntica associada. A comunidade macrofaunal associada às gramas marinhas foi mais densa, rica e diversa do que a comunidade macrofaunal associada às algas de deriva. Os moluscos Anomalocardia flexuosa, Cerithium atratum, Ostrea sp, Tellina lineata e Divalinga quadrissulcata dominaram o ambiente de gramas marinhas. A maior complexidade estrutural das algas de deriva forneceu um habitat protegido mais atrativo para os crustáceos como, Pagurus criniticornis, Cymadusa filosa e Batea catharinensis. A malacofauna associada às algas não foi abundante, mas um novo registro foi a ocorrência do bivalve invasor Lithopaga aristatus, perfurando uma concha de Ostrea sp. As relações entre os descritores da biomassa algal foram comprovadas para a maioria dos descritores de sua fauna associada. As relações das macrófitas marinhas com a macrofauna total associada seguiram o mesmo padrão das relações das algas de deriva. As análises de agrupamento e ordenação mostraram que as comunidades macrofaunais bênticas do local são estruturadas de acordo com os táxons dos organismos associados mais dominantes influenciados pelo tipo de vegetação basibionte (algas de deriva ou grama marinha). Destaca-se com o presente estudo a importância de medidas de maior proteção no local para a preservação e manutenção do ecossistema da Ilha do Japonês, RJ, Brasil

Biochemical investigations on edible molluscs of Kerala 1. A study on the nutritional value of some bivalves

Data on the biochemical constituents and food values of five commercially important edible bivalves of Kerala, Lamellidens corrianus, Corbicuta striatella, Mytilus edulis, Vellorita cohinensis and Ostrea cucullata have been presented. Physiological significance of the variations has been discussed. Present study reveals the bivalves meat compares favourably with the common food fishes with regard to their caloric value and hence would be an excellent and economic source of nutrition for our people.

亚历山大藻对海产贝类胚胎和蒙古裸腹溞的影响及致毒机制研究

本文研究了典型有毒赤潮藻——亚历山大藻(Alexandrium)对海湾扇贝(Argopecten irradians Lamarck)、文蛤(Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus)和太平洋牡蛎(Ostrea gigas Thunberg)受精卵孵化的影响和致毒机制以及对蒙古裸腹溞(Moina mongolica Daday)生命活动的影响。此外，还针对我国赤潮发生特点，模拟研究了我国东海大规模赤潮对菲律宾蛤仔（Ruditapes philippinarum (Adams et Reeve)）受精卵孵化和蒙古裸腹溞种群数量的影响。 结果发现：8株产PSP毒素的亚历山大藻：塔玛亚历山大藻( ATHK, AT5-1, AT5-3, ATCI02, ATCI03)，链状亚历山大藻, A. lusitanicum、微小亚历山大藻和2株不产PSP毒素的相关亚历山藻(AC-1, AS-1)对海湾扇贝受精卵的孵化均有显著抑制作用，说明在亚历山大藻属中，这种抑制作用具有一定的普遍性，并与PSP毒素的产生无直接关系，表明存在非PSP毒素的其它毒性物质。一种PSP标准毒素STX也没有这种抑制作用，进一步证明该抑制作用与PSP毒素不直接相关。 相关亚历山大藻AC-1对海湾扇贝、文蛤和太平洋牡蛎受精卵孵化的有显著的毒害作用，其藻液、重悬液、去藻液和内容物均显著影响受精卵的孵化。相关亚历山大藻AC-1对海湾扇贝、文蛤和太平洋牡蛎担轮幼虫细胞的超微结构有显著破坏作用，破坏膜结构和胞内结构，影响细胞内的功能器官如溶酶体的稳定性，使卵黄颗粒萎缩变形；对文蛤和太平洋牡蛎的受精卵显示出极强的毒害作用： 3000cells•ml-1时，使二者胚胎完全溶掉消失；在2000cells•ml-1的藻液中培养2h后，担轮幼虫的外膜发生溶解，整个幼体呈葡萄串样。相关亚历山大藻AC-1产生的这种毒性物质可能对贝类胚胎细胞的结构和功能有影响。 亚历山大藻对蒙古裸腹溞的毒性效应与不同藻种/藻株密切有关：塔玛亚历山大藻（AT-6, ATCI02）、链状亚历山大藻、A. lusitanicum和微小亚历山大藻不影响蒙古裸腹溞的存活，而塔玛亚历山大藻（ATHK、ATCI03和AT5-1）和相关亚历山大藻(AC-1, AS-1)有显著影响。蒙古裸腹溞能摄食塔玛亚历山大藻(AT-6, ATHK, ATCI02, ATCI03, AT5-1)，链状亚历山大藻, A. lusitanicum和微小亚历山大藻，很少或基本不摄食相关亚历山大藻。亚历山大藻影响蒙古裸腹溞的RNA/DNA比值和蛋白质含量以及Na+,K+-ATP酶活性。相关亚历山大藻AC-1对蒙古裸腹溞的存活有极强的毒性作用，藻液、重悬液、内容物和碎片均有显著影响；即使与3×106cells•ml-1小球藻混合，10和50cells•ml-1的相关亚历山大藻AC-1仍能使蒙古裸腹溞的产幼数和存活时间显著下降。亚历山大藻对蒙古裸腹溞生命活动的影响不仅与PSP毒素有关，还与非PSP毒素有关；蒙古裸腹溞可能也是研究有害藻急性和慢性毒性的一种理想生物。 应用菲律宾蛤仔胚胎和蒙古裸腹溞评价我国东海特大规模赤潮对海洋生物资源的潜在危害时发现：单种链状亚历山大藻对菲律宾蛤仔受精卵的孵化和蒙古裸腹溞的种群增长均有显著不利影响；单种东海原甲藻（1~10×104cells•ml-1）对菲律宾蛤仔受精卵的孵化没有影响；较低密度的东海原甲藻能维持蒙古裸腹溞（2~5×104cells•ml-1）的种群增长；较高密度的东海原甲藻对蒙古裸腹溞（10×104cells•ml-1）种群有显著的抑制作用。两种藻以赤潮密度混合后，适当密度的东海原甲藻能在一定程度上减轻链状亚历山大藻对菲律宾蛤仔受精卵和蒙古裸腹溞的毒性。可见，东海连年爆发的大规模赤潮不仅对浮游生态系统有不利影响，若同时爆发亚历山大藻赤潮，则对海洋浮游生态系统和贝类资源的恢复产生更加不利的影响。

牡蛎的比较解剖学及系统分类和演化的研究

本文对我国己发表的牡蛎作了详细的比较解剖学研究。在强蛎亚科（Pycnodonteinae）发现了第三个心耳－－右上心耳和与其相连的第三条回心静脉－－后静脉，这在双壳类中实属首次报道。第一次提出了牡蛎循环系统的两种类型，附心脏型和无附心脏型。两者之间的主要区别是：前者无肌套血管，其外套血液主要来自环外套动脉和附心脏，而后者由于无附心脏和环外套动脉，其外套血液主要来自肌套血管；前者是通过出鳃静脉和外套静脉分别将鳃前部和后部的血液送回心耳，而后者的外套静脉与外入鳃血管不通，鳃中的血液只能通过出鳃静脉回到心耳。根据外套腔的形态特点，本文将中国的牡蛎分为三种类型六个组。第一种类型，左右侧都具侧水腔，包括一个组；第二种类型，仅右侧具有侧水腔，包括四个组；第三种类型；不具侧水腔，包括一个组。在比较解剖学研究的基础上，文章还讨论了消化系统，神经系统，循环系统等一些主要系统的演化过程，并推测了现生牡蛎各属间的演化关系。提出了一些新的分类依据，发现了一个具有重要演化意义的单行属种，爪蛎属（Talonostrea），猫爪牡蛎（T. talonata）。澄清了目前世界上在舌骨蛎属（Hyotissa）、拟舌骨蛎属（Parahyotissa）、小蛎属（Saccostrea）和巨蛎属（Crassostrea）分类中的混乱。解决了我国牡蛎分类中存在己久的疑难问题，将己发表的20种牡蛎重新鉴定为15种，即舌骨牡蛎（Hyotissa hyotis），复瓦牡蛎（Parahyotissa imbricata）。中华牡蛎（P. sinensis），鸡冠牡蛎（Lopha cristagalli）。薄片牡蛎（Dendostren folium），缘齿牡蛎（D. cre-nulifera），褶牡蛎（Alectryonella plicatula），猫爪牡蛎（T. talonata），长牡蛎（Crassostrea gigas），近江牡（C. rivularis），拟近江牡蛎（Crassostrea sp.），僧帽牡蛎（Saccostrea cucullata），棘刺牡蛎（S. echinata），鹅掌牡蛎（Planostrea pestigris）和密鳞牡蛎（Ostrea denselamellosa）。它们分别隶属于二个科，曲蛎科（Grypheidae）和牡蛎科（Ostreidae）；四个亚科，强蛎亚科（Pycnodonteinae）。冠蛎亚科（Pycnodonteinae），巨蛎亚科（Lopheinae）和牡蛎亚科（Crassostreinae）。

Classification of jinjiang oysters Crassostrea rivularis (Gould, 1861) from China, based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis

The jinjiang oyster Crassostrea rivularis [Gould, 1861. Descriptions of Shells collected in the North Pacific Exploring Expedition under Captains Ringgold and Rodgers. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8 (April) 33-40] is one of the most important and best-known oysters in China. Based on the color of its flesh, two forms of C rivularis are recognized and referred to as the "white meat" and 11 red meat" oysters. The classification of white and red forms of this species has been a subject of confusion and debate in China. To clarify the taxonomic status of the two forms of C. rivularis, we collected and analyzed oysters from five locations along China's coast using both morphological characters and DNA sequences from mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase 1, and the nuclear 28S rRNA genes. Oysters were classified as white or red forms according to their morphological characteristics and then subjected to DNA sequencing. Both morphological and DNA sequence data suggest that the red and white oysters are two separate species. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences obtained in this study and existing sequences of reference species show that the red oyster is the same species as C. ariakensis Wakiya [1929. Japanese food oysters. Jpn. J. Zool. 2, 359-367.], albeit the red oysters from north and south China are genetically distinctive. The white oyster is the same species as a newly described species from Hong Kong, C. hongkongensis Lam and Morton [2003. Mitochondrial DNA and identification of a new species of Crassostrea (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) cultured for centuries in the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong, China. Aqua. 228, 1-13]. Although the name C. rivularis has seniority over C. ariakensis and C. hongkongensis, the original description of Ostrea rivularis by Gould [1861] does not fit shell characteristics of either the red or the white oysters. We propose that the name of C. rivularis Gould [1861] should be suspended, the red oyster should take the name C. ariakensis, and the white oyster should take the name C. hongkongensis. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Its length polymorphism in oysters and its use in species identification

In an effort to develop genetic markers for oyster identification, we studied length polymorphism in internal transcribed spacers (ITS) between major ribosomal RNA genes in 12 common species of Ostreidae: Crassostrea virginica, C. rhizophorae, C. gigas, C. angulata, C. sikamea, C. ariakensis, C. hongkongensis, Saccostrea echinata, S. glomerata, Ostrea angasi, O. edulis, and O. conchaphila. We designed two pairs of primers and optimized PCR conditions for simultaneous amplification of ITS 1 and ITS2 in a single PCR. Amplification was successful in all 12 species, and PCR products were visualized on high-resolution agarose gels. ITS2 was longer than ITS 1 in all Crassostrea and Saccostrea species, whereas they were about the same size in the three Ostrea species. No intraspecific variation in ITS length was detected. Among species, the length of ITS I and ITS2 was polymorphic and provided unique identification of 8 species or species pairs: C. ariakensis, C. hongkongensis, C. sikamea, O. conchaphila, C. virginica/C. rhizophorae, C. gigas/C. angulata, S. echinata/S. glonzerata, and O. angasi/O. edulis. The ITS assay provides simple, rapid and effective identification of C. ariakensis and several other oyster species. Because the primer sequences are conserved, the ITS assay may be useful in the identification of other bivalve species.

Impacts of climate change on non-native species

Anthropogenic changes to climate and extreme weather events have already led to the introduction of non-native species (NNS) to the North Atlantic. Regional climate models predict that there will be a continuation of the current trend of warming throughout the 21st century providing enhanced opportunities for NNS at each stage of the invasion process. Increasing evidence is now available to show that climate change has led to the northwards range expansion of a number of NNS in the UK and Ireland, such as the Asian club tunicate Styela clava and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Providing definitive evidence though of the direct linkage between climate change and the spread of the majority of NNS is extremely challenging, due to other confounding factors, such as anthropogenic activity. Localised patterns of water movement and food supply may also be complicating the overall pattern of northwards range expansion, by preventing the expansion of some NNS, such as the slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata and the Chilean oyster Ostrea chilensis, from a particular region. A greater understanding of the other aspects of climate change and increased atmospheric CO2, such as increased rainfall, heat waves, frequency of storm events, and ocean acidification may aid in increasing the confidence that scientists have in predicting the long term influence of climate change on the introduction, spread and establishment of NNS.

The long-term impacts of fisheries on epifaunal assemblage function and structure, in a special area of conservation

Fisheries can have profound effects on epifaunal community function and structure. We analysed the results from five dive surveys (1975–1976, 1980, 1983, 2003 and 2007), taken in a Special Area of Conservation, Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland before and after a ten year period of increased trawling activity between 1985 and 1995. There were no detectable differences in the species richness or taxonomic distinctiveness before (1975–1983) and after (2003–2007) this period. However, there was a shift in the epifaunal assemblage between the surveys in 1975–1983 and 2003–2007. In general, the slow-moving, or sessile, erect, filterfeeders were replaced by highly mobile, swimming, scavengers and predators. There were declines in the frequency of the fished bivalve Aequipecten opercularis and the non-fished bivalves Modiolus modiolus and Chlamys varia and some erect sessile invertebrates between the surveys in 1975–1983 and 2003–2007. In contrast, there were increases in the frequency of the fished and reseeded bivalves Pecten maximus and Ostrea edulis, the fished crabs Cancer pagurus and Necora puber and the non-fished sea stars Asterias rubens, Crossaster papposus and Henricia oculata between the surveys in 1975–1983 and 2003–2007. We suggest that these shifts could be directly and indirectly attributed to the long-termimpacts of trawl fishing gear, although increases in the supply of discarded bait and influxes of sediment may also have contributed to changes in the frequency of some taxa. These results suggest that despite their limitations, historical surveys and repeat sampling over long periods can help to elucidate the inferred patterns in the epifaunal community. The use of commercial fishing gear was banned from two areas in Strangford Lough in 2011, making it a model ecosystem for assessing the long-term recovery of the epifaunal community from the impacts of mobile and pot fishing gear.

The incentives of a resource owner: Evidence from a private oyster fishery

European flat oyster Ostrea edulis fisheries were once abundant around the UK coastline. The sole remaining productive O. edulis fishery in Scotland is in Loch Ryan. This fishery has been privately owned and managed by a single family since 1701. Economic theory predicts that ownership, whether public or private, is a necessary condition for rational fishery management. In this paper, a series of four leases and a licence are examined, covering an 85-year period over the 20th and 21st century, to examine whether the management of the Loch Ryan fishery conforms to the expected norms of rational management. The leases show that, over this period, the owners appear more willing to expend resources on regulating tenant behaviour, supporting the conclusion that successive generations of owners developed an evolving sense of what "rational management" might require. The results of this study could inform the management of other fisheries - both public and private - by emphasising the importance of learning from experience.

Biología y pesquería de cuatro especies de invertebrados marinos de importancia comercial. Región Tumbes, II Etapa – 2007

La Sede Regional de IMARPE Tumbes en el 2007 realizó la segunda etapa del estudio biológico pesquero de langosta (Panulirus gracilis), ostra (Ostrea iridescens), cangrejo de los manglares (Ucides occidentalis) y concha negra (Anadara tuberculosa). El desembarque de esas especies fue 432,9 t, constituyendo el 75% de los invertebrados marinos extraídos en esta Región. Se registró 11 especies (8 moluscos, 2 artrópodos y 1 equinodermo) relacionados con sus capturas. El cangrejo de los manglares alcanzó las mayores capturas con 220,5 t. El centro de acopio El Tumpis registró el mayor desembarque con 191,7 t (44,28%) y predominio de la ostra, Villar registró 119,3 t (27,56%). La mayor CPUE anual fue para ostra (48,5 kg/viaje) seguido por concha rayada (16,7 kg/faena) y el cangrejo de los manglares (9,1 kg/faena). Se reportó 70% de ejemplares de concha negra por debajo de la talla mínima legal de extracción (TME) (45 mm de longitud valvar), y 18% en cangrejo de los manglares (65 mm AC).

Electrochemical genosensors for the detection of Bonamia parasite. Selection of single strand-DNA (ssDNA) probes by simulation of the secondary structure folding

A post-PCR nucleic acid work by comparing experimental data, from electrochemical genosensors, and bioinformatics data, derived from the simulation of the secondary structure folding and prediction of hybridisation reaction, was carried out in order to rationalize the selection of ssDNA probes for the detection of two Bonamia species, B. exitiosa and B. ostreae, parasites of Ostrea edulis.Six ssDNA probes (from 11 to 25 bases in length, 2 thiolated and 4 biotinylated) were selected within different regions of B. ostreae and B. exitiosa PCR amplicons (300 and 304 bases, respectively) with the aim to discriminate between these parasite species. ssDNA amplicons and probes were analyzed separately using the "Mfold Web Server" simulating the secondary structure folding behaviour. The hybridisation of amplicon-probe was predicted by means of "Dinamelt Web Server". The results were evaluated considering the number of hydrogen bonds broken and formed in the simulated folding and hybridisation process, variance in gaps for each sequence and number of available bases. In the experimental part, thermally denatured PCR products were captured at the sensor interface via sandwich hybridisation with surface-tethered probes (thiolated probes) and biotinylated signalling probes. A convergence between analytical signals and simulated results was observed, indicating the possibility to use bioinformatic data for ssDNA probes selection to be incorporated in genosensors. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seleção de fungos degradadores de madeira para uso na destoca biológica de Eucalyptus spp

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ricerca, mediante tecniche di proteomica, di biomarcatori proteici utili nella valutazione della qualità degli alimenti di origine animale

In the last decades, the increase of industrial activities and of the request for the world food requirement, the intensification of natural resources exploitation, directly connected to pollution, have aroused an increasing interest of the public opinion towards initiatives linked to the regulation of food production, as well to the institution of a modern legislation for the consumer guardianship. This work was planned taking into account some important thematics related to marine environment, collecting and showing the data obtained from the studies made on different marine species of commercial interest (Chamelea gallina, Mytilus edulis, Ostrea edulis, Crassostrea gigas, Salmo salar, Gadus morhua). These studies have evaluated the effects of important physic and chemical parameters variations (temperature, xenobiotics like drugs, hydrocarbons and pesticides) on cells involved in the immune defence (haemocytes) and on some important enzymatic systems involved in xenobiotic biotransformation processes (cytochrome P450 complex) and in the related antioxidant defence processes (Superoxide dismutase, Catalase, Heat Shock Protein), from a biochemical and bimolecular point of view. Oxygen is essential in the biological answer of a living organism. Its consume in the normal cellular breathing physiological processes and foreign substances biotransformation, leads to reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, potentially toxic and responsible of biological macromolecules damages with consequent pathologies worsening. Such processes can bring to a qualitative alteration of the derived products, but also to a general state of suffering that in the most serious cases can provoke the death of the organism, with important repercussions in economic field, in the output of the breedings, of fishing and of aquaculture. In this study it seemed interesting to apply also alternative methodologies currently in use in the medical field (cytofluorimetry) and in proteomic studies (bidimensional electrophoresis, mass spectrometry) with the aim of identify new biomarkers to place beside the traditional methods for the control of the animal origin food quality. From the results it’s possible to point out some relevant aspects from each experiment: 1. The cytofluorimetric techniques applied to O. edulis and C. gigas could bring to important developments in the search of alternative methods that quickly allows to identify with precision the origin of a specific sample, contributing to oppose possible alimentary frauds, in this case for example related to presence of a different species, also under a qualitative profile, but morpholgically similar. A concrete perspective for the application in the inspective field of this method has to be confirmed by further laboratory tests that take also in account in vivo experiments to evaluate the effect in the whole organism of the factors evaluated only on haemocytes in vitro. These elements suggest therefore the possibility to suit the cytofluorimetric methods for the study of animal organisms of food interest, still before these enter the phase of industrial working processes, giving useful information about the possible presence of contaminants sources that can induce an increase of the immune defence and an alteration of normal cellular parameter values. 2. C. gallina immune system has shown an interesting answer to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) exposure, dose and time dependent, with a significant decrease of the expression and of the activity of one of the most important enzymes involved in the antioxidant defence in haemocytes and haemolymph. The data obtained are confirmed by several measurements of physiological parameters, that together with the decrease of the activity of 7-etossi-resourifine-O-deetilase (EROD linked to xenobiotic biotransformation processes) during exposure, underline the major effects of B[a]P action. The identification of basal levels of EROD supports the possible presence of CYP1A subfamily in the invertebrates, still today controversial, never identified previously in C. gallina and never isolated in the immune cells, as confirmed instead in this study with the identification of CYP1A-immunopositive protein (CYP1A-IPP). This protein could reveal a good biomarker at the base of a simple and quick method that could give clear information about specific pollutants presence, even at low concentrations in the environment where usually these organisms are fished before being commercialized. 3. In this experiment it has been evaluated the effect of the antibiotic chloramphenicol (CA) in an important species of commercial interest, Chamelea gallina. Chloramphenicol is a drug still used in some developing countries, also in veterinary field. Controls to evaluate its presence in the alimentary products of animal origin, can reveal ineffective whereas the concentration results to be below the limit of sensitivity of the instruments usually used in this type of analysis. Negative effects of CA towards the CYP1A- IPP proteins, underlined in this work, seem to be due to the attack of free radicals resultant from the action of the antibiotic. This brings to a meaningful alteration of the biotransformation mechanisms through the free radicals. It seems particularly interesting to pay attention to the narrow relationships in C. gallina, between SOD/CAT and CYP450 system, actively involved in detoxification mechanism, especially if compared with the few similar works today present about mollusc, a group that is composed by numerous species that enter in the food field and on which constant controls are necessary to evaluate in a rapid and effective way the presence of possible contaminations. 4. The investigations on fishes (Gadus morhua, and Salmo salar) and on a bivalve mollusc (Mytilus edulis) have allowed to evaluate different aspects related to the possibility to identify a biomarker for the evaluation of the health of organisms of food interest and consequently for the quality of the final product through 2DE methodologies. In the seafood field these techniques are currently used with a discreet success only for vertebrates (fishes), while in the study of the invertebrates (molluscs) there are a lot of difficulties. The results obtained in this work have underline several problems in the correct identification of the isolated proteins in animal organisms of which doesn’t currently exist a complete genomic sequence. This brings to attribute some identities on the base of the comparison with similar proteins in other animal groups, incurring in the possibility to obtain inaccurate data and above all discordant with those obtained on the same animals by other authors. Nevertheless the data obtained in this work after MALDI-ToF analysis, result however objective and the spectra collected could be again analyzed in the future after the update of genomic database related to the species studied. 4-A. The investigation about the presence of HSP70 isoforms directly induced by different phenomena of stress like B[a]P presence, has used bidimensional electrophoresis methods in C. gallina, that have allowed to isolate numerous protein on 2DE gels, allowing the collection of several spots currently in phase of analysis with MALDI-ToF-MS. The present preliminary work has allowed therefore to acquire and to improve important methodologies in the study of cellular parameters and in the proteomic field, that is not only revealed of great potentiality in the application in medical and veterinary field, but also in the field of the inspection of the foods with connections to the toxicology and the environmental pollution. Such study contributes therefore to the search of rapid and new methodologies, that can increase the inspective strategies, integrating themselves with those existing, but improving at the same time the general background of information related to the state of health of the considered animal organism, with the possibility, still hypothetical, to replace in particular cases the employment of the traditional techniques in the alimentary field.