Search results for " Mollusc"
showing 10 items of 37 documents
Protein mapping of calcium carbonate biominerals by immunogold
2007
The construction of metazoan calcium carbonate skeletons is finely regulated by a proteinaceous extracellular matrix, which remains embedded within the exoskeleton. In spite of numerous biochemical studies, the precise localization of skeletal proteins has remained for a long time as an elusive goal. In this paper, we describe a technique for visualizing shell matrix proteins on the surface of calcium carbonate crystals or within the biominerals. The technique is as follows: freshly broken pieces of biominerals or NaOCl then EDTA-etched polished surfaces are incubated with an antibody elicited against one matrix protein, then with a secondary gold-coupled antibody. After silver enhancement,…
Fasciola hepatica infection in children actively detected in a survey in rural areas of Mardan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province, northern Pakis…
2018
Abstract Human fascioliasis is a freshwater snail borne, zoonotic disease caused by Fasciola liver flukes which are widely spread throughout Pakistan and has recently proved to be endemic in humans of the Punjab province. To verify whether fasciolids are also affecting humans outside this province, studies were conducted in four communities comprising rural and urban areas of Mardan district, Khyber Pakhtunkha province, northern Pakistan. Activities comprised two surveys, a coprological one to look for Fasciola infection and another to get information on potential human infection sources and risk factors by means of a questionnaire. Out of 540 subjects of all ages surveyed, only 4 children …
First record of Aplysia dactylomela (Opisthobranchia: Aplysiidae) from the Egadi Islands (western Sicily)
2014
The alien mollusc Aplysia dactylomela is recorded for the first time from the Egadi Islands marine protected area (western Sicily). This species has been widely reported in the Mediterranean and has established populations in Sicily. The presence of a few specimens let us suppose that its occurrence in this area is a recent event and that soon new populations will be sighted in the whole Egadi Islands and on the western and southern coasts of Sicily.
Hydrodynamic effects on the origin and quality of organic matter for bivalves: an integrated isotopic, biochemical and transplant study
2006
Different hydrodynamic conditions can affect both the origin and the quality of organic matter available to bivalve molluscs. I chose 2 environments with very different hydrodynamics (a Mediterranean lagoon open to flow and a closed pond), but similar with regard to temperature, salinity, depth, wind exposure and algae coverage, to investigate this. The lagoon was characterised by active flow and bivalve molluscs, whereas the pond was closed off from the lagoon’s main flow but characterised by mussel beds of the highest density ever observed in the western Mediterranean. Biochemical features, 13C and 15N contents of particulate and sedimentary organic matter, and isotopic signatures of domi…
Characterization of the land snail Ganula lanuginosa (Boissy, 1835) (Mollusca: Hygromiidae): new invader of the Iberian Peninsula.
2021
Recently, a well-established population of the hygromiid Ganula lanuginosa has been discovered in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Xàtiva (Province of Valencia, Spain), corresponding to the first record for the Iberian Peninsula and the Continental Europe. It is a land snail native to North Africa and also known from the European Mediterranean islands, namely the Balearic Islands (Spain), Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France). Morpho-anatomical studies of the shell and the reproductive system have been carried out, and these features have been compared with those of the most similar hygromiids, which has allowed us to correctly identify them. In addition, parasitological and ec…
Land molluscs from the Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve (north-western Sicily, Italy) (Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Pulmonata)
2021
The results of a study on the fauna of land molluscs from Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve (NW Sicily, Italy) (Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Pulmonata) are here described. In this small island 23 species have been found, 6 of which are Sicilian endemic taxa. Siciliaria leucophryna microinsularis n. ssp. endemic to the Isola delle Femmine (or Isola di Fuori) is described. For each species ecological, distributional data and information on their presence on this island are provided.
VALUTAZIONE DELLA PREVALENZA DI NOROVIRUS E VIRUS DELL’EPATITE A (HAV) NEI MOLLUSCHI EDULI LAMELLIBRANCHI IN SICILIA, STRATEGIE DI CONTROLLO E COMUNI…
Perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) parasites reflect ecosystem conditions: a comparison of a natural lake and two acidic reservoirs in Finland.
2000
Parasite communities of perch were studied in a natural lake (Vetamajarvi) and two reservoirs (the Kyrkosjarvi and Liikapuro reservoirs) located in Western Finland. All water bodies studied are small, shallow and humic. However, the reservoirs are more acidic than the lake (pH 5.9 and 5.3 vs. 6.4). Altogether, 18 parasite species were found, but the component communities were reduced in the harsh conditions of the reservoirs (12 and six species) as compared with the lake (17 species). In addition, the mean number of metazoan parasite specimens per fish was markedly lower in the reservoirs (64.3 and 14.3 specimens) than in the lake (116.1 specimens). Our prediction on the depauperation of pa…
Nacre calcification in the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum: carbonic anhydrase activity and purification of a 95 kDa calcium-binding glycoprotein.
2008
9 pages; International audience; The formation of the molluscan shell is finely tuned by macromolecules of the shell organic matrix. Previous results have shown that the acid-soluble fraction of the nacre matrix of the freshwater paleoheterodont bivalve Unio pictorum shell displays a number of remarkable properties, such as calcium-binding activity, the presence of extensive glycosylations and the capacity to interfere at low concentration with in vitro calcium carbonate precipitation. Here we have found that the nacre-soluble matrix exhibits a carbonic anhydrase activity, an important function in calcification processes. This matrix is composed of three main proteinaceous discrete fraction…
DO INVASIVE MACROALGAE INFLUENCE ASSOCIATED MOLLUSC DIVERSITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA ?
2013
The benthic molluscs associated to the non-indigenous red algae Asparagopsis taxiformis invading the Mediterranean rocky subtidal were compared with those associated to a native brown alga. The results showed a marked difference in species richness and abundance between native and non-native algal species.