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Assessment of predominant bacteria in noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) collected in the Eastern Adriatic Sea

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Abstract

Noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) is an endemic species and the largest known bivalve in the Mediterranean Sea. By filtering large amounts of water, they maintain a high percentage of organic matter, hence playing an important role in the marine ecosystem. The ecological community of pen shells is impressive, and there are numerous microorganisms present in its soft tissues. Since this species is highly endangered due to recently described mass mortalities throughout the Mediterranean, this study was aimed at finding out more about its microbiome. In this study, we identified the predominant bacterial populations of specimens collected at three separate locations along the Eastern Adriatic coast. The predominant bacteria were isolated and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to identify eight different bacterial genera: Aestuariibacter sp., Aliivibrio sp., Alteromonas sp., Marinobacter sp., Pseudoalteromonas sp., Rubritalea sp., Thalassospira sp. and the Vibrio splendidus clade. The identified genera are ubiquitous in the marine environment and have previously been described as both beneficial symbionts and potential pathogens in other molluscs. There was a clear difference in the predominant bacterial populations between northern and southern sampling sites, which could be linked to water temperature. These findings indicate the need for expanded sampling over a longer time period, since more exhaustive research would provide information vital to the conservation of this critically endangered species.

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Raw sequencing data is available upon reasonable request; animal material is unavailable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors kindly acknowledge the Croatian Ministry of Environment and Energy for issuing permits for the collection and analysis of Noble pen shell specimens.

Funding

This study was funded by the Croatian Veterinary Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Fish Pathology, Department for Pathological Morphology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, Zagreb, Croatia

    Željko Pavlinec, Ivana Giovanna Zupičić, Dražen Oraić & Snježana Zrnčić

  2. Department of Ecology, Agronomy and Aquaculture, University of Zadar, Trg Kneza Višeslava 9, Zadar, Croatia

    Bruna Petani & Bosiljka Mustać

  3. Laboratory for Pathology, Department for Pathological Morphology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, Zagreb, Croatia

    Željko Mihaljević

  4. Laboratory for Parasitology, Department for Bacteriology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, Zagreb, Croatia

    Relja Beck

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  1. Željko Pavlinec
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  2. Ivana Giovanna Zupičić
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Table 4 Accession numbers of sequences obtained in this research
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Pavlinec, Ž., Zupičić, I.G., Oraić, D. et al. Assessment of predominant bacteria in noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) collected in the Eastern Adriatic Sea. Environ Monit Assess 192, 581 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08541-6

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