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Histological features of Rickettsia-like organisms in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis L.)

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Abstract

The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis L.) represents an economically important oyster production in Southern Italy, widespread in natural beds along the coast. The practice to be eaten raw is an everlasting concern for possible health risk with a need to stringently monitor the health of aquatic environment. A screening survey using histopathological examination was undertaken by harvesting O. edulis from different sites along the Apulian coast of Italy. Tissue samples of the digestive gland, kidney, gonad, and gill were provided for morphologic study in light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The LM observations revealed spherical cytoplasmic inclusions as basophilic prokaryote colonies in 13/250 oysters. The TEM and SEM confirmed the presence of intracytoplasmic inclusions of Rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs), merely in the epithelial cells of the digestive gland tubule tissues in the 13 oysters. Within intracytoplasmic vacuoles, RLOs exhibited a prokaryotic characteristic ultrastructure with transverse binary fission, a DNA zone full of chromatin fibers and a granular periplasmic ribosome zone. O. edulis were found positive for RLOs in wild oysters from Manfredonia, while the other sites were found free of pathological inclusions. Thus, we present the first report of a Rickettsia-like infection in the Apulian wild oyster (O. edulis) from Italy, including an ultrastructural description and pathological characterization.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the critical support of the anatomical pathology technicians of the institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Pathology and Comparative Oncology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy

    Antonella Tinelli, Maria Pia Santacroce, Giuseppe Passantino, Rosa Leone, Paola Gorgoni & Nicola Zizzo

  2. Unit of Animal Health, ASL BAT, Corso Imbriani, 113, Trani, Italy

    Rosa Patruno

  3. Department of Emergency and Organ Transplants (DETO), Section of Veterinary Science and Animal Production, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy

    Salvatore Desantis

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  1. Antonella Tinelli
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Correspondence to Antonella Tinelli.

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Tinelli, A., Santacroce, M.P., Passantino, G. et al. Histological features of Rickettsia-like organisms in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis L.). Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 882–889 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07007-8

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