Patógenos na ostra Crassostrea rhizophorae de estuários da costa setentrional do Nordeste Brasileiro

Abstract

Bivalve mollusks, including oysters, can be affected by a wide variety of pathogens which may be causative agents of diseases. Among these etiological agents are viruses, bacteria, protozoa and metazoa. In Northeastern Brazil, the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae is an estuarine resource often exploited by coastal communities and therefore studies that evaluate the health status of this mollusk are important. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of parasites in three significant estuaries of Northeastern Brazil: Jaguaribe (Ceará), Camurupim (Piauí) and Carnaubeiras (Maranhão). The collections of C. rhizophorae in each estuary were held in August and September of 2011 (dry season; N= 450); March, April (rainy season; N= 450), October and November (dry season; N= 450) of 2012 and May and June (rainy season; N= 450) of 2013, totaling 1800 animals. The techniques used for pathogens detection were culture in Ray’s fluid thioglycollate medium (RFTM), polymerase chain reaction, (PCR), sequencing and histology. The first analyses were held with oysters collected in 2011. The RFTM assays revealed Perkinsus with the follow prevalences: Jaguaribe= 17.3%, Camurupim= 5.3%, Carnaubeiras= 10.6%. The intensity of infection ranged from very light to severe in the three estuaries. PCR analyzes confirmed Perkinsus sp. in 6 oysters and histology confirmed 21 cases. Histological analyses of oysters in all collection periods (2011, 2012 and 2013) evidenced hypertrophy of male gametes, Rickettsia-type bacteria and protozoa of genera Sphenophrya, Ancistrocoma, Steinhausia and Nematopsis and metazoa of genera Urastoma, Tylocephalum and Bucephalus, and yet an unidentified metazoa. Hypertrophy of gametes occurred in Carnaubeiras (3.3%). Bacteria Rickettsia were present in the three estuaries (rainy and dry season) with prevalences ranging from 30 to 80%. The prevalences of Sphenophrya sp., Ancistrocoma sp., and Steinhausia sp. were generally low. Two oysters presented cellular hypertrophy (xenoma) caused by Sphenophrya sp. Nematopsis sp. prevalences were high (up to 100%) and low in metazoa (3.3 to 10%). The intensities of infection were low to all found pathogens. In oysters collected in 2012 and 2013, the highest prevalence observed in RFTM was 34% in the estuary of Carnaubeiras River during the rainy season of 2013. PCR assays confirmed 29.89% (87/291) of positive results in RFTM. The sequencing of the amplified fragments from the ITS region of Perkinsus confirmed the presence of three species infecting C. rhizophorae in the region: P. beihaiensis, P. marinus and P. chesapeaki. Phylogenetic analyzes place the species P. chesapeaki identified in this study in a well-defined grouping with other isolates from the USA and the Mediterranean. This is the first record of P. chesapeaki infecting C. rhizophorae in South America. Considering these findings, it is recommended a constant monitoring of the health status of populations of oysters from this and other regions of Northeastern Brazil.