Genetic signature of a recent invasion: The ragged sea hare Bursatella leachii in Mar Menor (SE Spain)

This study received partial financial support from the Séneca Foundation, Agencia Regional de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia, Spain (11881/PI/09). The first author (MGW) was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/70689/2010). JD was supported through an Erasmus grant (2011–2013) of the European MSc in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (EMBC).

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (June 2012)

The present work reports on the extended distribution of nineteen species in the Mediterranean. These are: Upeneus pori (Fish:Turkey), Bursatella leachii (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia: eastern coast of Spain), Sparisoma cretense (Fish: Ionian coast of Greece), Pseudobryopsis myura (Chlorophyta:Turkey), Aplysia dactylomela (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia: Karpathos island, and Kyklades Archipelago, Greece), Asparagopsis armata and Botryocladia madagascariensis (Rhodophyta: South Peloponnesos, Greece), Oxynotus centrina (Fish: Greece), Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Chlorophyta ), Stypopodium schimperi (Phaeophyta ) Siganus luridus and Stephanolepis diaspros (Fish) Percnon gibbesi (Decapoda, Brachyura) (Kyklades Archipelago, Greece), Cerithium scabridum (Mollusca, Prosobranchia: Anavissos: Greece) and Cerithium renovatum (Mollusca, Prosobranchia: N. Κriti), Cassiopea andromeda (Scyphomedusa: Rhodos Island, Greece), Abra tenuis (Mollusca Bivalvia: Vouliagmeni Lake, Greece) Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Fish: Calabrian coast, Italy) and Plocamopherus ocellatus (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia: İskenderun Bay, Turkey).

The fate of Lyngbya majuscula toxins in three potential consumers

Blooms of Lyngbya majuscula have been reported with increasing frequency and severity in the last decade in Moreton Bay, Australia. A number of grazers have been observed feeding upon this toxic cyanobacterium. Differences in sequestration of toxic compounds from L. majuscula were investigated in two anaspideans, Stylocheilus striatus, Bursatella leachii, and the cephalaspidean Diniatys dentifer. Species fed a monospecific diet of L. majuscula had different toxin distribution in their tissues and excretions. A high concentration of lyngbyatoxin-a was observed in the body of S. striatus (3.94 mg/kg(-1)) compared to bodily secretions (ink 0.12 mg/kg- 1; fecal matter 0.56 mg/kg(-1); eggs 0.05 mg/kg(-1)). In contrast, B. leachii secreted greater concentrations of lyngbyatoxin-a (ink 5.41 mg/kg(-1); fecal matter 6.71 mg/kg(-1)) than that stored in the body (2.24 mg/kg(-1)). The major internal repository of lyngbyatoxin-a and debromoaplysiatoxin was the digestive gland for both S. striatus (6.31 +/- 0.31 mg/kg(-1)) and B. leachii (156.39 +/- 46.92 mg/kg(-1)). D. dentifer showed high variability in the distribution of sequestered compounds. Lyngbyatoxin-a was detected in the digestive gland (3.56 +/- 3.56 mg/kg(-1)) but not in the head and foot, while debromoaplysiatoxin was detected in the head and foot (133.73 +/- 129.82 mg/kg(-1)) but not in the digestive gland. The concentrations of sequestered secondary metabolites in these animals did not correspond to the concentrations found in L. majuscula used as food for these experiments, suggesting it may have been from previous dietary exposure. Trophic transfer of debromoaplysiatoxin from L. majuscula into S. striatus is well established; however, a lack of knowledge exists for other grazers. The high levels of secondary metabolites observed in both the anaspidean and the cephalapsidean species suggest that these toxins may bioaccumulate through marine food chains.

Dietary selectivity for the toxic cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula and resultant growth rates in two species of opisthobranch mollusc

Trophodynamics of blooms of the toxic marine cyanobacterium Lyngkya majuscula were investigated to determine dietary specificity in two putative grazers: the opisthobranch molluscs, Stylocheilus striatus and Bursatella leachii. S. striatus is associated with L. majuscula blooms and is known to sequester L. majuscula metabolites. The dietary specificity and toxicodynamics of B. leachii in relation to L. majuscula is less well documented. In this study we found diet history had no significant effect upon dietary selectivity of S. striatus when offered a range of plant species. However, L. majuscula chemotype may alter S. striatus' selectivity for this cyanobacterium. Daily biomass increases between small and large size groups of both species were recorded in no-choice consumption trials using L. majuscula. Both S. striatus and B. leachii preferentially consumed L. majuscula containing lyngbyatoxin-a. Increase in mass over a 10-day period in B. leachii (915%) was significantly greater than S. striatus (150%), yet S. striatus consumed greater quantities of L. majuscula (g day(-1)) and thus had a lower conversion efficiency (0.038) than B. leachii (0.081) based on sea hare weight per gram of L. majuscula consumed day(-1). Our findings suggest that growth rates and conversion efficiencies may be influenced by sea hare maximum growth potential, acquisition of secondary metabolites or diet type. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity and antitumor activity of marine invertebrates extracts

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biologia Marinha, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, Universidade do Algarve, 2014

Mycoplasma leachii sp. nov. as a new species designation for Mycoplasma sp. bovine group 7 of Leach, and reclassification of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides LC as a serovar of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri

The Mycoplasma mycoides cluster consists of six pathogenic mycoplasmas causing disease in ruminants, which share many genotypic and phenotypic traits. The M. mycoides cluster comprises five recognized taxa: Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (MmmSC), M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony (MmmLC), M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc), Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc) and M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp). The group of strains known as Mycoplasma sp. bovine group 7 of Leach (MBG7) has remained unassigned, due to conflicting data obtained by different classification methods. In the present paper, all available data, including recent phylogenetic analyses, have been reviewed, resulting in a proposal for an emended taxonomy of this cluster: (i) the MBG7 strains, although related phylogenetically to M. capricolum, hold sufficient characteristic traits to be assigned as a separate species, i.e. Mycoplasma leachii sp. nov. (type strain, PG50(T) = N29(T) = NCTC 10133(T) = DSM 21131(T)); (ii) MmmLC and Mmc, which can only be distinguished by serological methods and are related more distantly to MmmSC, should be combined into a single subspecies, i.e. Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, leaving M. mycoides subsp. mycoides (MmmSC) as the exclusive designation for the agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. A taxonomic description of M. leachii sp. nov. and emended descriptions of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides and M. mycoides subsp. capri are presented. As a result of these emendments, the M. mycoides cluster will hereafter be composed of five taxa comprising three subclusters, which correspond to the M. mycoides subspecies, the M. capricolum subspecies and the novel species M. leachii.

El Holoceno medio palustre de la llanura litoral del río Ter (Baix Empordá, Girona)

The paludal deposits presented here belong to a geomorphological unit identified between Palafrugell Corridor and the littoral plains of Ter River (Baix Ter), associated to a carbonate-rich spring system. The sections show a distintic clay level, mixed with black silts, very rich in snail remains. The malacological assemblage contained stillwaters species (Bithynia leachii, Galba truncatula, Pisidium milium, Radix peregra) along with damp species (Monacha cartusiana, Oxyloma elegans, Succinea putris, Succinella oblonga, Vallonia pulchella, Vertigo sp.). Some open-dry species are also present (Cernuella virgata, Eobania vermiculata, Pomatias elegans, Rumina decollata) revailing a mosaic-like landscape. Radiocarbon dates place this level ca. 7.000BPwithin the Holocene sequence of the Baix Ter basin. Colluvial deposits on top of these paludal levels have a typical open-dry malacological assemblage (Cernuella virgata, Cochlicella acuta, Eobania vermiculata, Pomatias elegans, Rumina decollata, Trochoidea elegans) the same assemblage that inhabits the Empordà littoral plains nowadays

The origin of the 'Mycoplasma mycoides cluster' coincides with domestication of ruminants.

The 'Mycoplasma mycoides cluster' comprises the ruminant pathogens Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides the causative agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae the agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum, Mycoplasma leachii and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri. CBPP and CCPP are major livestock diseases and impact the agricultural sector especially in developing countries through reduced food-supply and international trade restrictions. In addition, these diseases are a threat to disease-free countries. We used a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) approach to gain insights into the demographic history of and phylogenetic relationships among the members of the 'M. mycoides cluster'. We collected partial sequences from seven housekeeping genes representing a total of 3,816 base pairs from 118 strains within this cluster, and five strains isolated from wild Caprinae. Strikingly, the origin of the 'M. mycoides cluster' dates to about 10,000 years ago, suggesting that the establishment and spread of the cluster coincided with livestock domestication. In addition, we show that hybridization and recombination may be important factors in the evolutionary history of the cluster.

Biostratigraphical investigations of Lago d'Averno, near Naples

Remains of diatoms, molluscs, ostracods, foraminifera and pollen exines preserved in the sediments of Lago d'Averno, a volcanic lake in the Phlegrean Fields west of Naples, allowed us to reconstruct the changes in the ecological conditions of the lake and of the vegetation around it for the period from 800 BC to 800 AD. Lago d'Averno was at first a freshwater lake, temporarily influenced by volcanic springs. Salinity increased slowly during Greek times as a result of subsidence of the surrounding land. Saline conditions developed only after the lake was connected with the sea by a canal, when Portus Julius was built in 37 BC. The first post-Roman period of uplift ended with a short freshwater phase during the 7th century after Christ. Deciduous oakwoods around the lake was transformed into a forest of evergreen oaks in Greek times and thrived there - apparently almost uninfluenced by man - until it was felled, when the Avernus was incorporated into the new Roman harbour in 37 BC, to construct a shipyard and other military buildings there. Land-use was never more intense than during Roman times and weakest in Greek and Early Roman times, when the Avernus was considered a holy place, the entrance to the underworld.