Francesca Carella

University of Naples Federico II | UNINA · Department of Biology

The bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis has a broad geographic distribution, represent an important species for the ecology of coastal waters, also constituting a major aquaculture species. In the present work, molecular and tissue biomarkers were examined in mussel populations (M. galloprovincialis) located in four different areas of the coastal wat...

Haemic neoplasia (HN) in bivalves has been reported in association with mass mortality events in various species of molluscs. The aim of this work was to quantify the nuclear mor-phometry and DNA content of neoplastic cells of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis affected by HN using nuclear densitometry in Feulgen-stained preparations. The results we...

Comparative pathology as a scientific discipline studies animal diseases in relation to their aetiology, pathogenesis and prognosis. Among the main aspects of this discipline, regressive changes, host defense responses with pathological implications and progressive changes, represent the majority of the possible responses of cells and tissues to pa...

Haemic neoplasia (HN) is a pathologic condition reported in several bivalve species in different geographic areas. In this study we describe the cytomorphological features and the proliferative behaviour, assessed by the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), of HN in common cockle Cerastoderma edule and Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovic...

Recently, the expanding bivalve mollusk demand led to an increasing need of monitoring their health status. Parasitic diseases are frequent and are associated with significant mollusk mortality. The intensification of shellfish farming and climate changes could favor the progression of disease aetiopathogenesis. Perkinsus olseni, the most frequentl...

This work reports for the first time the so-called bald sea urchin disease of the populations of Paracentrotus lividus in Sardinia (Italy). Following the disease occurrence reported by local fishermen of about 35% on the collected specimens for commercial purpose, the phenomenon was evaluated in two areas. Animals displayed external lesions represe...

A main reason of the increasing interest in cereal landraces is their potential to offer more diversified and functional staple food. For instance, landraces are an underexploited resource of pigmented varieties, appreciated for the high accumulation of phytochemicals with known health benefits. This study characterized the chemical, functional, an...

Dwarf oysters in the Ebro Delta are only observed growing on local pen shells, Pinna nobilis L., currently under extinction risk. The species identification of these populations is uncertain, given recent genetic classifications of dwarf oysters of Ostrea stentina species complex. Hence, the first objective of this study was to confirm the identity...

Therapeutic treatments with Artemisia annua have a long-established tradition in various diseases due to its antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-malaria and anti-cancer effects. However, in relation to the latter, virtually all reports focused on toxic effects of A. annua extracts were obtained mostly through conventional maceration methods...

The fan mussel (or pen shell), Pinna nobilis, is an emblematic large bivalve, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Due to various anthropogenic impacts, its populations had substantially decreased the last century, which led to its strict protection by international and national legislative instruments since the 1990s. Since 2016, P. nobilis has been...

We examined a disease outbreak of the fan mussel, Pinna nobilis (L.), in the Alfacs Bay (South Ebro Delta, Spain) during a period of two years in three zones exposed to a summer salinity gradient resulting from agricultural freshwater discharges and distance to the open sea. Long-term monitoring was also conducted in Fangar Bay (North Ebro Delta),...

Intracellular microcolonies of bacteria (IMC), in some cases developing large extracellular cysts (bacterial aggregates), infecting primarily gill and digestive gland, have been historically reported in a wide diversity of economically important mollusk species worldwide, sometimes associated with severe lesions and mass mortality events. As an eff...

From May to October 2019, multiple mass mortality events (MMEs) of Pinna nobilis were observed along Croatian coastline starting from the south-east and rapidly progressing in north-western direction. Time dynamics of the MMEs closely followed general speed and direction patterns of surface sea-currents, advancing approximately 350 km in less than...

Mycobacteriosis is a chronic bacterial disease reported in aquatic and terrestrial animals, including humans. The disease affects a wide range of cultured and wild organisms worldwide. Mycobacteriosis is well-known in aquatic vertebrates (e.g., finfish, marine mammals), while in the last few years, reports of its presence in aquatic invertebrates h...

Aims: Extreme mortality events affecting Pinna nobilis, some associated to Vibrio mediterranei, have depleted many populations of this bivalve. The objective of this study was to demonstrate pathogenicity of V. mediterranei in the host P. nobilis by performing a bacterial challenge in P. nobilis to understand if V. mediterranei has specific virule...

The fan mussel, Pinna nobilis, is an endemic Mediterranean species, whose populations have been seriously affected by infectious diseases. The effect of diet composition on growth and survival rates, and on nutritional metrics including ingestion and absorption rates, together with food preferences were investigated in 48 juveniles. Individuals wer...

Due to high rates of proliferation and DNA synthesis, neoplastic cells have higher re- quirements of iron than normal cells. For that reason, neoplastic cells have remodelled iron metabolism pathways, over-expressing genes encoding for iron uptake proteins, among which Transferrin Receptor-1 (TFR-1). Accumulating evidence has proven that overexpres...

A major epizootic event attributed to Haplosporidium pinnae leading to 100% mortality of Pinna nobilis L. populations along Mediterranean coastlines started in the fall of 2016. As a result, a project to rescue 221 adult individuals of the endangered pen shell, Pinna nobilis was conducted in November 2017 in the two areas of the Spanish coast where...

An accurate approach to coral disease study is critical for understanding the global decline of animal population. Such approach should involve the proper use of medical concepts and terminology to avoid confusion and promote clarity in the coral disease literature. Inflammatory and neoplastic disorders have been frequently confused in corals. They...

Following the Mass Mortality Events (MMEs) of the pen shell P. nobilis in Campania region and Sicily, a survey of moribund P. nobilis specimens was also conducted in other Italian regions (Campania, Tuscany, Sardinia, and Apulia) and Spain (Catalunya). Histopathological and molecular examination of 27 specimens of P. nobils revealed different types...

The pen shell, Pinna nobilis L., is a critically endangered bivalve threatened by mass mortality events throughout the Mediterranean, but the Alfacs Bay (Ebro Delta) still hosts many healthy individuals. Herein, we study the main factors controlling recruitment patterns in this locality, including gonadal development and abundance of critical life-...

Background: equine sarcoids are the most frequent skin tumors in equidae worldwide. It is well known that delta bovine papillomaviruses are their causative agents. We have recently shown the presence in equine sarcoids of abnormal vessel structures, which could cause a hypoxic condition. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of hypox...

Il genere Marteilia, phylum Paramyxea, raggruppa protisti parassiti che colpiscono diverse specie di bivalvi di interesse commerciale. Tale gruppo di parassiti è presente in diverse aree geografiche con conseguente forte impatto socio-economico ed ecologico. La marteliosi causata da Marteilia refringens è stata inclusa nella lista dell'OIE ed è sta...

Una delle conseguenze più evidenti del riscaldamento delle acque a livello globale è l’aumentata incidenza di malattie negli organismi acquatici. Negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad un aumento dei casi di mortalità di ricci di mare appartenenti a diverse specie. Ad oggi, la malattia è stata descritta in 19 specie di echinoidi, sia in ambiente natur...

Intensive aquaculture and poor management practices can cause stress and compromise welfare of farmed fish. This study aimed to assess the potential links between stocking densities and feeding methods with social and individual stress responses on juvenile seabream (Sparus aurata) through risk-taking and hypoxia tests. Seabream was first experimen...

Introduction: Artemisia annua is a small herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family declared therapeutic by the World Health Organisation, in particular for its artemisinin content, an active ingredient at the base of most antimalarial treatments, used every year by over 300 million people. In the last years, owing to low artemisinin cont...

Disease is an increasing threat for marine bivalves worldwide. Recently, a mass mortality event impacting the bivalve Pinna nobilis was detected across Spanish Mediterranean Sea and linked to an haplospordian parasite. In 2017–2018, the same events affecting the pen shell P. nobilis were also recorded in two different regions of Italy, Campania and...

Disease is an increasing threat for marine bivalves worldwide. Recently, a mass mortality event (MME) impacting the bivalve Pinna nobilis was detected across a wide geographical area of the Spanish Mediterranean Sea and linked to a haplosporidian parasite. In 2017–2018, mass mortality events affecting the pen shell Pinna nobilis were recorded in tw...

In 2017-2018 mass mortality events affecting the Pen shell Pinna nobilis were recorded in two different regions of Italy, Campania and Sicily, in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Interestingly, histopathological and molecular examination of specimens showed presence of Haplosoridium sp. only in 1 specimen in one area. Conversely, in all the...

Disease is an increasing threat for marine bivalves worldwide. Recently, a mass mortality event (MME) impacting the bivalve Pinna nobilis was detected across a wide geographical area of the Spanish Mediterranean Sea and linked to a haplosporidian parasite. In 2017–2018, mass mortality events affecting the pen shell Pinna nobilis were recorded in tw...

In the recent years, a collapse in Donax trunculus fishing yields has been experienced in the Tyrrhenian sea of the Mediterranean Basin. Unfortunately, few data are available on the impact of D. trunculus diseases on the above condition. For the first time, a pathological survey on the natural beds of the bivalve on the Campania and Latium coasts w...

This study investigates the development of lymphoid organs and mucosal tissues in larval and juvenile meagre, Argyrosomus regius. For this purpose, meagre larvae were reared from hatch to the juvenile stage, under mesocosm conditions at 18-19 °C, using standard feeding sequences with live prey and artificial food. The kidney was evident upon hatch...

Pinna nobilis is an endangered species of fan mussel found along coastal Mediterranean waters requiring special attention for conservation. Populations are restricted in number, due to anthropogenic disturbances, disease, and in some areas, low rates of recruitment. To date, the difficulties associated with the identification of planktonic stages h...

Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), is a perennial plant belonging to the family of Urticaceae, genus Urtica. Despite the use of nettle in folk veterinary medicine is well documented, U. dioica is today an underestimated and frequently neglected plant, considered by the contemporary agriculture as a weed to be eliminated. This mini review focus on ver...

This article proposes a systematic evaluation of methods pertaining to the pathology discipline (histology, histochemistry, ultrastructure, in situ techniques, image analysis including morphom-etry and fractal dimension analysis) employed to study liver and intestine status during a series of nutritional trials performed on flatfish species (common...

The Mediterranean land snail Theba pisana (Mollusca: Helicidae) is an introduced agricultural pest in many countries around the world, including Australia, Israel, USA and South Africa. In addition, this snail is an intermediate host of parasites of importance in both human and veterinary medicine. In this study, a natural population of T. pisana s...

video shows steps necessary to measure ploidy from Feulgen stained preparations. (MP4)

Cornu aspersum is one of the most commercially important snail species in Europe, and also recognised as an emerging vector of Snail Borne Diseases (SBD) affecting both humans and animals worldwide. In this context, basic knowledge of the biology and pathology of these invertebrates is fundamental to perform both effective farm management and sanit...

The use of aquatic invertebrates in biomedical research and as environmental sentinels has dramatically grown in recent decades, with an increased need in understanding of comparative pathology. The Unionids freshwater mussels are a group of worldwide distributed bivalves residing small ditches and ponds, lakes, canals and rivers, often used as ani...

Several descriptions of neoplasms have been reported in marine bivalves so far. Some of them, like gonadal and haemic neoplasia, are the most common and share the characteristic of malignant tumours. Other types, less frequent, are the tumours arise from epithelia, muscle and connective tissue and usually classified as benign since neither invasive...

Nuclear morphology is a central feature associated with cellular function and disease. Enlargement of nuclei, anisokaryosis, nuclear pleomorphism, changes in chromatin patterns and nucleolar abnormalities are well-recognized features of neoplastic cells. The quantitative assessment of variability of such nuclear features in pathological and physiol...

Molecular and tissue biomarkers were studied in mussel populations (Mytilus galloprovincialis) located in four different areas of the Gulf of Naples characterized by different anthropogenic conditions. The obtained data provided an insight into the biological stress responses of studied bivalves during the year, indicating that such measurements co...

Ostreopsis cf. ovata is a benthic dinoflagellate that produces palytoxin-like compounds that adversely affect both marine vertebrates and invertebrates and are reported to be responsible for human intoxication in aerosol form. In this work, a histopathological analysis accompanied by quantitative evaluation of tissue injury in mussels (M. galloprov...

In recent years, mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates have been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea that are related to increased sea water temperatures, as one of the major effects of global climate change. Following a disease outbreak in gorgonians (Eunicella cavolinii and E. singularis) during the summer seasons of 2008 and 2009 in the G...

Background The evaluation of intestinal trophism, mainly the mucosal layer, is an important issue in various conditions associated with injury, atrophy, recovery, and healing of the gut. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the kinetics of the proliferation and apoptosis of enterocytes by immunohistochemistry and to assess the complexity of...

Negli ultimi anni una delle conseguenze più evidenti del riscaldamento delle acque a livello globale è l’aumentata incidenza di malattie negli organismi acquatici (Harvell et al., 1999). In particolare, le malattie dei coralli, indicando con questo termine diversi gruppi di Antozoi fra cui esacoralli e ottocoralli, sono in grado di provocare profon...

The western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, is a small fish native to the southeastern United States. In the past century this species, and its congener, the eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, have been stocked in permanent and temporary waters throughout the world for mosquito control. These two species, very similar in appearance and biolo...

In this work M. galloprovincialis and O. edulis specimens were surveyed for a pathological study in the Gulf of Naples (Mediterranean sea, Campania Region, southern Italy). Clusters of Nocardia sp.-like cells were observed in histological slides. PCR amplification, sequencing and in situ hybridization were carried out in order to corroborate Nocard...

The wedge clam Donax trunculus Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most common bivalve molluscs inhabiting the sandy shores of the Mediterranean Sea and is considered an important commercial resource. In this study, we report the first molecular, morphological and histopathological descriptions of metacercariae from a trematode belonging to the genus Post...

In vertebrate species, the MDM2 and MDM4 gene paralogs negatively regulate the activity of p53 family members and are involved in the development of a number of tumor types. Comparative genomic analyses have shown the presence of a single MDM homolog gene in invertebrates; its interaction with p53 and its involvement in tumor pathogenesis was demon...

In this study is reported the first episode of a Shell Disease Syndrome (SDS) in wild specimens of Carcinus aestuarii from the polluted Volturno River estuary. Collected crabs showed erosive and ulcerative "black spot" lesions on the exoskeleton; histologically the lesions ranged from a mild to extensive and severe damages and intense haemocyte inf...

The vertebrate MDM paralog genes MDM2 and MDM4 encode for negative regulators of the p53 protein family and their over-expression is related to many different tumors. In invertebrate species, comparative genomics analyses showed the presence of a single MDM homolog gene, where its involvement in tumour pathogenesis was demonstrated only in the muss...

Abstract Objective: Chalkbrood is a fungal disease of honey bee brood caused by Ascosphaera apis. This disease is now found around the world and there are some indications that the incidence has increased in recent years. The diagnosis of Chalkbrood is based on the recognition of typical clinical symptoms and on the identification of the causative...

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##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

It has been reported that endocrine disrupter compounds (EDCs) interfere with the endocrine system, mimicking the action of sex steroid hormones in different species of mollusks. Prosobranchs are frequently used as a reliable bioindicator to evaluate EDC exposure. In this article, we evaluate the effects of the xenoestrogen 4-n-nonylphenol (NP) in...

In vertebrate species, the MDM2 and MDM4 gene paralogs negatively regulate the activity of p53 family members and are involved in the development of a number of tumor types. Comparative genomic analyses have shown the presence of a single MDM homolog gene in invertebrates; its interaction with p53 and its involvement in tumor pathogenesis was demon...

The Angitola lake is an artificial basin located in Calabria Region, in South Italy, part of the “Natural Regional Park of Serre”. Its surface area is 1.96 km2 and it is approximately 3 km away from Sant’Eufemia gulf. The basin was created in 1966 by damming the homonymous river. Four major rivers enter the lake: three in the far southeast, the fou...