Microplastic ingestion by marine organisms is becoming an emergency threat to seafood industry, with farmed mussels as of particular interest. The context of trophic transfer accords that humans are at large into exposure to microplastic... more
Microplastic ingestion by marine organisms is becoming an emergency threat to seafood industry, with farmed mussels as of particular interest. The context of trophic transfer accords that humans are at large into exposure to microplastic through its consumption. In the province of Sorsogon, Philippines, green mussel Perna viridis is sorted into various ‘grading label’: Small (5.0-6.9 cm), Medium (7.0-8.9 cm) and Jumbo (≥9.0 cm) and are marketed within and outside the province. Total microplastic varied from 0.31 to 2.5 items/ individual. Mussel size ranged from 5.0-6.9 cm showed the highest microplastics (2.57 items/ individual) while mussels below 2.9 cm has the least microplastic (0.31 item/individual). The majority of ingested microplastics were lines, while their colors and sizes varied. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated organosiloxane and polyethylene terephthalate as the most common polymer type identified. The results suggested that microplastics detected in the mussels are relatively within the narrow range with no significant differences of its distribution across its categorical sizes. With the results can be used as a baseline contribution for the risk assessment of microplastic pollution in Sorsogon bay.
The extractive species, green mussel (Perna viridis) has been integrated into the existing commercial finfish culture of Chanos chanos and Trachinotus blochii in Valladolid, Carcar Bay, Eastern Cebu, Philippines, following the Integrated... more
The extractive species, green mussel (Perna viridis) has been integrated into the existing commercial finfish culture of Chanos chanos and Trachinotus blochii in Valladolid, Carcar Bay, Eastern Cebu, Philippines, following the Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) concept. Two sampling sites (573 m apart) were selected; the experimental site, and control site. Biomass and growth rates of this species was measured monthly, along with physico-chemical parameters in the two sites, monitored for a period of up to one year. Results showed that P. viridis was adopted to the fish farming site where physico-chemical parameters like temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen were within the optimal range. Growth of P. viridis was mainly affected by predators and fouling organisms present during culture which reduced their potential biomass and growth rates. The introduction of green mussels in the fish farm appeared to have checked the adverse effects of fish culture activities daily inputs of commercial feeds, could led to the suspended solids. Transplanted green mussels grew into marketable after 7 months with average specific growth rate (SGR) reached highest level at 1.03% in February 2019. The use of IMTA concept, following the culture of green mussels within the cages area is found to work well in the culture of milkfish/pompano, and should be promoted and expanded in the Philippines.
The emphasis on the growth of Phytophthora palmivora was important in order to reduce Pod Rot Disease of cacao (Theobrorna cacao L.) which could harm agriculture sector. Some bacteria had chitinolytic enzyme activity that is potentially... more
The emphasis on the growth of Phytophthora palmivora was important in order to reduce Pod Rot Disease of cacao (Theobrorna cacao L.) which could harm agriculture sector. Some bacteria had chitinolytic enzyme activity that is potentially used as an antifungal against Phytophthora palmivora, because the cell wall of the fungi composed of chitin. The purpose of this research were to know chitinolytic bacteria from Perna viridis shell which had higher activity of chitinase enzyme, the amount of chitinase enzyme activity of each selected isolate, and to know the effect of chitinolytic bacterial isolates from Perna viridis shell to reduce the growth of Phytophthora palmivora. The bacteria were isolated from Perna viridis shell at Depok Beach, Kretek, Bantul, Yogyakarta. This research were an explorative research which include bacterial characterization and experimental research which include antagonistic test of chitinolytic bacteria against Phytophthora palmivora. The chitinolytic bacteria was isolated using selective chitin agar medium by pour plate method and then screening the isolates that had chitinase enzyme activity by measuring the enzyme activity of each bacterial isolates by spectrophotometric method. Selected bacterial isolates were characterized by macroscopic, microscopic and physiological characters. The bacteria that had been selected tested for their ability to reduce the growth of Phytophthora palmivora by Kirby Bauer modification method. The result showed that there were 10 isolates that had chitinase enzyme activity which two selected isolates had the higher chitinase enzyme activity. There were 7D and 6B isolates. The isolate 7D had 1,258 u/ml chitinase enzyme activity and isolate 6B had 1,212 u/ml chitinase enzyme activity. The result of chitinolytic bacterial antagonist test on Phytophthora palmivora growth showed that both bacterial isolates were potential to antifungal Phytophthora palmivora and showed a real effect in inhibiting the growth of Phytophthora palmivora with significance value < 0,05.
The Philippines, being a tropical country in the Pacific, has long been culturing mussels for business and food consumption. However, they cannot determine at a glance what gender is which. This study is conducted to determine the... more
The Philippines, being a tropical country in the Pacific, has long been culturing mussels for business and food consumption. However, they cannot determine at a glance what gender is which. This study is conducted to determine the difference of the male P. viridis and the female P. viridis through landmark based Geometric-Morphometric method. The population sample of P. viridis were obtained from Bula, General Santos City and was analyzed using the Rohlf's Tps series. This software helps in comparing the two landmark-defined shapes of P. viridis. Nine homologous points were plotted: (1) Umbo, (2) Ligament, (3) Posterior Adductor 1, (4) Posterior Adductor 2, (5) Posterior Adductor 3, (6) Posterior Adductor 4, (7) Posterior border, (8) Projection and (9) Anterior Adductor to determine the difference of shell size of male and female P. viridis. This study focuses on relationships between length-width and length-breadth through relative warps and on the abundance of both sexes among the specimen. The value of significance is 1 (p > 0.05) therefore, it is significant and there is a difference on the shell shape. The discriminant function analysis also showed that p = 1, therefore there is a significant difference in the shapes of both sexes. Results show that male P. viridis shell have a total variation of 89.56%, basing from the six relative warps, compared to that of the female P. viridis which is 90.65%, with a slight variation at the ligament and posterior adductor border regions. Relative warps also show that female mussels are wider and bigger than male mussels. It is suggested that the observation of the green mussel shells are done within one area only so as to prevent misleading inputs and have certainty on the report between male and female mussel shell comparison done on only one species. Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/jbes/morphological-variations-of-green-mussel-perna-viridis-in-bula-general-santos-city-using-geometric-morphometric-analysis/
Genetic variation due to heavy metal contamination has always been an interesting topic of study. Because of the numerous contaminants being found in coastal and intertidal waters, there is always much discussion and argument as to which... more
Genetic variation due to heavy metal contamination has always been an interesting topic of study. Because of the numerous contaminants being found in coastal and intertidal waters, there is always much discussion and argument as to which contaminant(s) caused the variations in the genetic structures of biomonitors. This study used a Single Primer Amplification Reaction (SPAR) technique, namely Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), to determine the genetic diversity of the populations of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis collected from a metal-contaminated site at Kg. Pasir Puteh and those from four relatively uncontaminated sites (reference sites). Heavy metal levels (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) were also measured in the soft tissues and byssus of the mussels from all the sites. Cluster analyses employing UPGMA based on the RAPD markers grouped the populations into two major clusters; the Bagan Tiang, Pantai Lido, Pontian, and Kg. Pasir Puteh populations were in one cluster, while the Sg. Belungkor population clustered by itself. This indicated that the genetic diversity based on bands resulting from the use of all four RAPD primers on P. viridis did not indicate its potential use as a biomarker of heavy metal pollution in coastal waters. However, based on a correlation analysis between a particular metal and a band resulting from a specific RAPD primer revealed some significant ( P < 0.01) correlations between the primers and the heavy metal concentrations in the byssus and soft tissues. Thus, the correlation between a particular metal and the bands resulting from the use of a specific RAPD primer on P. viridis could be used as biomonitoring tool of heavy metal pollution.
Cryptosporidium spp. has been recognized as an important pathogen. As bivalve mollusks are noted as potential sources of several pathogens due to their consumption as foodstuffs, the aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of... more
Cryptosporidium spp. has been recognized as an important pathogen. As bivalve mollusks are noted as potential sources of several pathogens due to their consumption as foodstuffs, the aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in Perna perna mussels and in seawater samples from a mussel farm in Southeastern Brazil, where mussels are grown directly in the sea, attached to ropes. Oocysts were observed by microscopy and confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Oocysts were present in mussel gills and GI tracts, as well as in the seawater. Of the 100 females, 10% and 11% showed contaminated GI tracts and gills, respectively, while this rate was lower in males, at 5% and 8.9%. Oocysts were present in higher amounts in the GI tract compared to gills and water. Contamination of the study area is apparent, leading to public health risks. More in-depth studies are needed, including molecular investigations, to identify Cryptosporidium species...
Genetic variation due to heavy metal contamination has always been an interesting topic of study. Because of the numerous contaminants being found in coastal and intertidal waters, there is always much discussion and argument as to which... more
Genetic variation due to heavy metal contamination has always been an interesting topic of study. Because of the numerous contaminants being found in coastal and intertidal waters, there is always much discussion and argument as to which contaminant(s) caused the variations in the genetic structures of biomonitors. This study used a Single Primer Amplification Reaction (SPAR) technique namely Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to determine the genetic diversity of the populations of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis collected from a metal-contaminated site at Kg. Pasir Puteh and those from four relatively&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; uncontaminated sites (reference sites). Heavy metal levels (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) were also measured in the soft tissues and byssus of the mussels from all the sites. Cluster analyses employing UPGMA done based on the RAPD makers grouped the populations into two major clusters; the Bagan Tiang, Pantai Lido, Pontian and Kg. Pasir Puteh populations were in one cluster, while the Sg. Belungkor population clustered by itself. This indicated that the genetic diversity based on bands resulting from the use of all four RAPD primers on P. viridis did not indicate its potential use as a biomarker of heavy metal pollution in coastal waters. However, based on a correlation analysis between a particular metal and a band resulting from a specific RAPD primer revealed some significant (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01) correlations between the primers and the heavy metal concentrations in the byssus and soft tissues. Thus, the correlation between a particular metal and the bands resulting from the use of a specific RAPD primer on P. viridis could be used as biomonitoring tool of heavy metal pollution.
