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Pastorino P, Colussi S, Varello K, Meletiadis A, Alberti S, Di Blasio A, Tedde G, Begovoeva M, Peano A, Rossi L, Renzi M, Acutis PL, Barceló D, Prearo M. Interdisciplinary approach to solve unusual mortalities in the European common frog (Rana temporaria) in two high-mountain ponds affected by climate change. Environ Res 2023; 222:115411. [PMID: 36736753 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The global decline in amphibian populations is a major environmental issue. Chytridiomycosis, Ranaviruses and the red-leg syndrome have been identified in unusual mortality events. However, these infections do not account for all causes of declining amphibian populations. Moreover, several cases of amphibian mortality are difficult to solve without resorting to an interdisciplinary approach. Two cases of unusual mortality in Rana temporaria occurred at two high-mountain ponds (northwest Italy) in April and May 2021. Water and frog samples were analysed to understand the possible causes responsible for the unusual mortalities. Results of the main physicochemical (pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chemical and biochemical oxygen demand) and nutrient (ammonia/ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus) parameters revealed a good condition of the water quality, with the absence of the main cyanotoxins (microcystins/nodularins). However, unseasonably high spring water temperatures were recorded in both ponds (12.73 °C and 14.21 °C for Frog Pond and Selleries Pond, respectively). Frogs (n = 50; snout-vent length: 7.0-9.8 cm; body mass: 85-123 g) collected from Frog Pond mainly presented bumps on the ventral cavity and dermal ulceration associated with the isolation of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum. On the other hand, frogs (n = 5; snout-vent length: 8.0-9.1 cm; body mass: 87-92 g) from Selleries Pond presented petechiae and dermal ulcerations on the rear limbs associated with the isolation of Aeromonas salmonicida and A. sobria. In both mortality events, the interdisciplinary approach revealed an association between frog mortalities and the isolation of bacteria. Isolated bacteria are considered opportunistic pathogens, and the high values of the water temperature has certainly led a stress on the frogs, favouring the spread of bacteria and the death of the frogs. Further studies are needed to assess the pathophysiological effects of the opportunistic bacteria here isolated, clarifying the interactions between emerging pathogens and climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Pastorino
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy.
| | - Silvia Colussi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy
| | - Katia Varello
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy
| | - Arianna Meletiadis
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy
| | - Silvia Alberti
- Ente di Gestione Delle Aree Protette Delle Alpi Cozie, Via Fransuà Fontan 1,10050, Salbertrand, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessia Di Blasio
- Azienda Sanitaria Locale TO3, ASL-TO3, Via Poirino 9, 10064, Pinerolo, Torino, Italy
| | - Giovanni Tedde
- Azienda Sanitaria Locale TO3, ASL-TO3, Via Poirino 9, 10064, Pinerolo, Torino, Italy
| | - Mattia Begovoeva
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy; European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale Delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153, Roma, Italy
| | - Andrea Peano
- Dipartimento di Science Veterinarie, Università Degli Studi di Torino, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy
| | - Luca Rossi
- Dipartimento di Science Veterinarie, Università Degli Studi di Torino, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy
| | - Monia Renzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Vita, Università Degli Studi di Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Pier Luigi Acutis
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy
| | - Damià Barceló
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), 08034, Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - Marino Prearo
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle D'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Torino, Italy
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Pastorino P, Colussi S, Pizzul E, Varello K, Menconi V, Mugetti D, Tomasoni M, Esposito G, Bertoli M, Bozzetta E, Dondo A, Acutis PL, Prearo M. The unusual isolation of carnobacteria in eyes of healthy salmonids in high-mountain lakes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2314. [PMID: 33504925 PMCID: PMC7840770 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82133-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Carnobacteria are common bacteria in cold and temperate environments; they are also reported during fish mortality events. In a previous study, carnobacteria were isolated from the eyes of healthy wild salmonids from a high-mountain lake. To better understand these findings, salmonids were captured from three high-mountain lakes (Lower and Upper Balma Lake, Rouen Lake; northwest Italy) during August 2019 and subjected to bacteriological and histological examination. Although all were healthy, 8.7% (Lower Balma Lake), 24% (Upper Balma Lake), and 32.6% (Rouen Lake) were positive for carnobacteria colonization of the eyes. A Trojan-horse effect was hypothesized to explain carnobacteria isolation in the eye. This immune-escaping macrophage-mediated mechanism has been identified in other Gram-positive bacteria. Biochemical, molecular, and phylogenetic analysis were carried out on isolated bacteria (Carnobacterium maltaromaticum and C. divergens). Based on previous references for carnobacteria isolated from fish, C. maltaromaticum strains were tested for the pisA precursor gene of the bacteriocin piscicolin 126. Carnobacterium maltaromaticum strains were found to display genotypic heterogeneity and a low percentage of pisA positive amplification. Features of geomorphology, geographic isolation, and microbiota common to the three lakes are thought to be possibly related to our findings. Moreover, terrestrial insects collected from the lake shoreline and the stomach contents were screened for the presence of carnobacteria. The salmonids in these high-mountain environments feed mainly on terrestrial insects, which are considered possible vectors for carnobacteria that might catabolize the exoskeleton chitin. All insects tested negative for carnobacteria, but as a small number of samples were analyzed, their role as possible vectors of infection cannot be excluded. Further studies are needed to corroborate our research hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Pastorino
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy.
| | - Silvia Colussi
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Pizzul
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Katia Varello
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Vasco Menconi
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Davide Mugetti
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Mattia Tomasoni
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Esposito
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy
| | - Marco Bertoli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Elena Bozzetta
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Dondo
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Pier Luigi Acutis
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Marino Prearo
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
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Afzal MI, Jacquet T, Delaunay S, Borges F, Millière JB, Revol-Junelles AM, Cailliez-Grimal C. Carnobacterium maltaromaticum: identification, isolation tools, ecology and technological aspects in dairy products. Food Microbiol 2010; 27:573-9. [PMID: 20510773 DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2010.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2009] [Revised: 03/26/2010] [Accepted: 03/28/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Carnobacterium species constitute a genus of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) present in different ecological niches. The aim of this article is to summarize the knowledge about Carnobacterium maltaromaticum species at different microbiological levels such as taxonomy, isolation and identification, ecology, technological aspects and safety in dairy products. Works published during the last decade concerning C. maltaromaticum have shown that this non-starter LAB (NSLAB) could present major interests in dairy product technology. Four reasons can be mentioned: i) it can grow in milk during the ripening period with no competition with starter LAB, ii) this species synthesizes different flavouring compounds e.g., 3-methylbutanal, iii) it can inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens as Listeria monocytogenes due to its ability to produce bacteriocins, iv) it has never been reported to be involved in human diseases as no cases of human infection have been directly linked to the consumption of dairy products containing this species.
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Loch TP, Xu W, Fitzgerald SM, Faisal M. Isolation of a Carnobacterium maltaromaticum- like bacterium from systemically infected lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). FEMS Microbiol Lett 2009; 288:76-84. [PMID: 18793198 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2008.01338.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein we report on the first isolation of a Carnobacterium maltaromaticum-like bacterium from kidneys and swim bladders of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) caught from Lakes Michigan and Huron, Michigan. Isolates were Gram-positive, nonmotile, facultatively anaerobic, asporogenous rods that did not produce catalase, cytochrome oxidase, or H2S, and did not grow on acetate agar. Except for carbohydrate fermentation, many phenotypic characteristics of lake whitefish isolates coincided with those of C. maltaromaticum, the causative agent of pseudokidney disease. Partial sequencing of 16S and 23S rRNA genes, as well as the piscicolin 126 precursor gene, yielded 97% and 98% nucleotide matches with C. maltaromaticum, respectively (accession numbers EU546836 and EU546837; EU643471). Phylogenetic analyses showed that lake whitefish isolates of this study are highly related, yet not fully identical to C. maltaromaticum. The presence of the C. maltaromaticum-like bacterium was associated with splenomegaly, renal and splenic congestion, and thickening of the swim bladder wall with accumulation of a mucoid exudate. Examination of stained tissue sections revealed renal and splenic congestion, vacuolation and bile stasis within the liver, and hyperplasia within the epithelial lining of the swim bladder. The concurrent presence of pathological changes and the C. maltaromaticum-like bacteria suggests that this bacterium is pathogenic to lake whitefish.
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