Frederico Batista

• PhD
• Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

Noroviruses (NoVs) are the leading cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis with societal costs of US$60.3 billion per annum. Development of a long amplicon nanopore-based method for dual-typing the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and major structural protein (VP1) regions from a single RNA fragment could improve existing norovirus typing methods...

Noroviruses (NoV) are the leading cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis across the globe with societal costs of US$60.3 billion per annum. Development of a long amplicon nanopore-based method for dual-typing the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and major structural protein (VP1) regions from a single RNA fragment could improve existing noroviru...

Norovirus is one of the largest causes of gastroenteritis worldwide, and Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging pathogen that has become the most dominant cause of acute viral hepatitis in recent years. The presence of norovirus and HEV has been reported within wastewater in many countries previously. Here we used amplicon deep sequencing (metabarc...

The armoured dinoflagellate Alexandrium can be found throughout many of the world’s temperate and tropical marine environments. The genus has been studied extensively since approximately half of its members produce a family of potent neurotoxins, collectively called saxitoxin. These compounds represent a significant threat to animal and environment...

The production, harvesting and safe consumption of bivalve molluscs can be disrupted by biological hazards that can be divided into three categories: (1) biotoxins produced by naturally occurring phytoplankton that are bioaccumulated by bivalves during filter-feeding, (2) human pathogens also bioaccumulated by bivalves and (3) bivalve pathogens res...

Bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) contamination with gastroenteritis viruses such as norovirus (NoV) is recognized as a significant public health risk worldwide. These foodborne epidemics are characterized by very low viral concentrations in the implicated foods, and by diverse viruses or multiple NoV strains originating from human sewage, resultin...

In the last decade, declines in the population of wild blue mussels Mytilus edulis in the Tamar estuary (United Kingdom) have been noted. In archived samples collected from 2013 to 2019, between 7% (in 2013) and 18% (in 2019) showed large granulocytoma and haemocytic infiltration in the interstitial tissue of the digestive gland. Four samples were...

Host, pathogen, and environment are determinants of the disease triangle, the latter being a key driver of disease outcomes and persistence within a community. The dinoflagellate genus Hematodinium is detrimental to crustaceans globally – considered to suppress the innate defences of hosts, making them more susceptible to co-infections. Evidence su...

Host, pathogen, and environment are determinants of the disease triangle, the latter being a key driver of disease outcomes and persistence within a community. The dinoflagellate genus Hematodinium is detrimental to crustaceans globally – considered to suppress the innate defences of hosts, making them more susceptible to co-infections. Evidence su...

This study provides a morphological and phylogenetic characterization of two novel species of the order Haplosporida (Haplosporidium carcini n. sp., and H. cranc n. sp.) infecting the common shore crab Carcinus maenas collected at one location in Swansea Bay, South Wales, UK. Both parasites were observed in the haemolymph, gills and hepatopancreas....

There is a paucity of knowledge regarding the diversity and impact(s) of disease-causing fungi in marine animals, especially shellfish. In efforts to address this knowledge gap for the shore crab Carcinus maenas, a year-long disease screen was carried out across two sites in Swansea Bay (Wales, UK) with a view to characterising putative fungal infe...

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the most common causes of acute viral hepatitis in humans. Although HAV has a relatively small genome, there are several factors limiting whole genome sequencing such as PCR amplification artefacts and ambiguities in de novo assembly. The recently developed Oxford Nanopore technologies (ONT) allows single-molecule...

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a naturally occurring global phenomena that have the potential to impact fisheries, leisure and ecosystems, as well as posing a significant hazard to animal and human health. There is significant interest in the development and application of methodologies to study all aspects of the causative organisms and toxins as...

Sacculina carcini is a common parasite of the European shore crab, Carcinus maenas. Following successful penetration of the host, numerous rootlets are formed that permeate through the hosts' tissues. Ultimately, these form an externa that houses the developing nauplii larvae of the parasite. Most studies have quantified levels of infection by coun...

Abstract Background The parasitic dinoflagellates of the genus Hematodinium represent the causative agent of so-called bitter or pink crab disease in a broad range of shellfish taxa. Outbreaks of Hematodinium-associated disease can devastate local fishing and aquaculture efforts. The goal of our study was to examine the potential role of the common...

The α-carbonic anhydrases (α-CAs) are a large and ancient group of metazoan-specific enzymes. They generate bicarbonate from metabolic carbon dioxide and through calcium carbonate crystal formation play a key role in the regulation of mineralized structures. To better understand how α-CAs contribute to shell mineralization in the marine Mediterrane...

Vibrio strains are pervasive in the aquatic environment and may form pathogenic and symbiotic relationships with the host. Vibrio chagasii ECSMB14107 was isolated from natural biofilms and is used as a model to elucidate the role of Vibrio in hard-shelled mussel (Mytilus coruscus) settlement, health and disease. The genome of the Vibrio strain ECSM...

The gut microbial community is critical for the host immune system, and in recent years, it has been extensively studied in vertebrates using ‘omic’ technologies. In contrast, knowledge about how the interactions between water temperature and diet affect the gut microbiota of marine invertebrates that do not thermoregulate is much less studied. In...

The grooved carpet-shell clam Ruditapes decussatus is native to the Northern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and has a high commercial value. It is one of the main native bivalve species cultured in Europe. The main objective of the present study was to gain further insights into the immunological repertoire of R. decussatus through a transcriptomic...

The Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas are very closely related species originating from Asia that were introduced in Europe. The objectives of the present study were to determine if there is asynchrony in settlement time of C. angulata and C. gigas larvae in an area where both taxa coexist and if hybrid...

It is commonly presumed that the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata was introduced into the North East (NE) Atlantic from Asia. The analysis of the nucleotide sequence of a highly polymorphic non-coding mitochondrial region (major noncoding region – MNR) of C. angulata samples collected in Europe (Portugal), Africa (Morocco) and Asia (Shantou a...

In order to determine if ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) can be vertically transmitted, 9 full-sib families of the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata were produced using a factorial mating design with 3 males and 3 females. The parents were survivors from an OsHV-1 mortality outbreak. OsHV-1 DNA was not detected by conventional PCR in the mantle...

The occurrence of pearls in the ‘true’ oysters, the Ostreioidea, is poorly documented despite being the most produced mollusc species in the world. Oysters of the Crassostrea genus were collected in two different sites in southern Portugal where both Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas are present, namely in: (1) the Ria Formosa lagoon where pearls w...

Ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) infections have been reported in several bivalve species. Mortality of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas spat has increased considerably in Europe since 2008 linked to the spread of a variant of OsHV-1 called μvar. In the present study we demonstrated that O. edulis juveniles can be infected by OsHV-1μvar when administ...

Perkinsosis is a disease of gastropod and bivalve molluscs caused by protozoan parasites of the Perkinsus genus. These parasites have been responsible for mass mortalities worldwide, with a significant impact in both fisheries and aquaculture, and resulting in severe economic losses. This review focuses mainly on current knowledge of diagnostic met...

In the present study, Marteilia sp. was detected by histological examination and in situ hybridisation in Ostrea edulis and Ostrea stentina collected in southern Iberian Peninsula. Marteilia refringens DNA was detected by PCR in O. edulis (collected in southern Portugal) and O. stentina (collected in southern Spain and Portugal). Sequencing analysi...

Bonamiosis is a disease caused by protozoan para- sites of the genus Bonamia (phylum Haplospori- dia) that has been responsible for mass mortalities in different oyster species worldwide (for review see Bower 2011; Engelsma et al. 2014). Within the genus Bonamia, there are four known species, namely B. ostreae (Pichot et al. 1980), B. rougheyi (Far...

After 100 years of published recording traces pertaining to the oyster electrocardiogram (ECG), we revisited the original experiments of Eiger (1913), using state-of-the-art electrophysiology recorders. Our aim was to confirm that a recordable ECG, similar to that of higher vertebrates, is present in the oyster heart. Portuguese oysters Crassostrea...

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, native to northeast Asia, is one of the most important cultured shellfish species. In Europe, Pacific oysters first settled along the Atlantic coasts of France at the end of the 1960s but rapidly spread and are now widely established. Twenty-two sites in the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, Denmark, France and Sp...

Appendix S1. Supplementary Material. Table S1. Data of physical parameters measured in the experimental tanks. Figure S1. Numbers of individuals of the main biofouling species on oyster shells in the 4 treatments used. Figure S2. Images of oyster shells with biofouling organisms at the end of trials to show spirorbid numbers.

How ocean acidification affects marine life is a major concern for science and society. However, its impacts on encrusting biofouling communities, that are both the initial colonizers of hard substrata and of great economic importance, are almost unknown. We showed that community composition changed significantly, from 92% spirorbids, 3% ascidians...

The Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata was the main oyster species produced in Europe until the 1970s when mass mortalities almost led to its disappearance. At that time, mortality events were associated with detection of irido-like viruses and no record of herpes-like virus exists. Nowadays, C. angulata is only present in relatively few locati...

Cytogenetic abnormalities associated with viral infections, including from viruses of the Herpesvirales order, have been reported in vertebrate species. Ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) has been detected worldwide during mortality outbreaks of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. On the other hand, a high proportion of aneuploid cells in somatic tis...

Bacteria of the genus Vibrio occur at a continuum from free-living to symbiotic life forms, including opportunists and pathogens, that can contribute to severe diseases, for instance summer mortality events of Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas. While most studies focused on Vibrio isolated from moribund oysters during mortality outbreaks, investiga...

Understanding the environmental responses of an invasive species is critical in predicting how ecosystem composition may be transformed in the future, especially under climate change. In this study, Crassostrea gigas, a species well adapted to the highly variable intertidal environment, was exposed to the chronic environmental challenges of tempera...

To date, European mussel culture has relied entirely on wild seed from suspended collectors or mussel beds. One problem faced by blue mussel producers is the unpredictability of seed supply, the amounts of wild seed available being extremely variable from year to year. A second problem is that recently spawned mussels cannot be sold due to insuffic...

Regardless of the high economic value and large geographical distribution of oysters, the current knowledge of oyster taxonomic relationships and systematics is still limited, particularly for flat oysters. In this study, the molecular cytogenetic characterization of mitotic chromosomes of the Provence flat oyster or dwarf oyster, Ostrea stentina,...

Doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) is an exceptional mode of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transmission that has been reported in some bivalve species. In species with DUI there are two types of mtDNA, one being transmitted from the female parent to both daughters and sons through the egg (F type), and the other being transmitted from the male parent...

Marine mussels Mytilus edulis, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Mytilus trossulus and their hybrids have recently been reported to occur sympatrically in both wild and farmed populations in Scotland. The presence of M. trossulus has led to significant economic losses at some aquaculture sites. Interest in understanding the reproductive cycles of these mu...

The blue mussel Mytilus edulis is a commercially important species whose fishery and culture generally relies on natural spat collection. Hatchery-production could provide an alternative source of seed, enabling reliable expansion of the industry. Mussel spawning and larval rearing trials were carried out to optimise elements of hatchery production...

We Studied the prevalence and intensity of the parasitic copepod Myicola ostreae in 2 closely related oysters Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas and their F1 hybrids. The effects on host and host reaction were also analysed to better understand host-parasite relationships between copepods and bivalve molluscs. Full reciprocal crosses were carried ou...

The taxonomic status of the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata (Lamarck, 1819) and the Pacifi c oyster C. gigas (Thunberg, 1793) has often been a matter of controversy. Based on larval shell morphology, experimental hybridization and electrophoretic studies of enzyme polymorphism, several authors have considered these two species to be synonymo...

The taxonomic status of the cupped oysters Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas has received considerable attention in the last decades. Based on larval shell morphology, experimental hybridization, allozymes and nuclear DNA studies several authors have considered these two taxa as being synonymous. However, mitochondrial data showed clear genetic dif...

Underlying consequences of domestication and artificial selection still remain largely unexplored in most aquacultured species. For species with a two phase life cycle, including the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, most genetic studies have focused on the post-metamorphosis juvenile and adult stages, but relatively few considered the larval stage...

The Portuguese oyster, Crassostrea angulata, is taxonomically close to the Pacific oyster, C. gigas, but there are clear genetic and phenotypic differences between these taxa. Among those differences, the faster growth of C. gigas compared with C. angulata has often been observed in the field. Crosses between C. angulata and C. gigas were performed...

Herpes-like viral infections have been reported in different bivalve mollusc species throughout the world. High mortalities among hatchery-reared larvae and juveniles of different bivalve species have been associated often with such infections. The diagnosis of herpes-like viruses in bivalve molluscs has been performed traditionally by light and tr...

The importance of the market for polychaetes dramatically increased after the discovery of their potential as food in aquaculture. In Portugal, the gathering of polychaetes solely from natural populations is not sufficient to meet market demand, both as bait for sea anglers and as a food item in aquaculture. The requests for worms to polychaete dea...

The importance of the market for polychaetes dramatically increased after the discovery of their potential as food in aquaculture. In Portugal, the gathering of polychaetes solely from natural populations is not sufficient to meet market demand, both as bait for sea anglers and as a food item in aquaculture. The requests for worms to polychaete dea...

Despite the economic importance of oysters due to the high aquaculture production of several species, the current knowledge of oyster phylogeny and systematics is still fragmentary. In Europe, Ostrea edulis, the European flat oyster, and Ostreola stentina, the Provence oyster or dwarf oyster, are both present along the European and African, Atlanti...

Unlike in some crops, no large heterotic effects have been observed in most farmed animals. Interestingly, significant hybrid vigour for some traits has been reported in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Crossbreeding between closely related taxa can be seen as an efficient way to exploit the dominance component of the genetic variance of a tr...

Direct and indirect consequences of selective breeding in marine bivalves still remain largely unexplored. For species with two-phase life cycle, like the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), most studies have focused on juvenile and adult stages, but relatively few have focused on juvenile and adult stages, but relatively few have considered the la...

Previous studies have shown heritable variation in larval developmental traits in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. In order to study the genetic consequences of production of oyster larvae in hatcheries, two factors, specific to hatcheries, were examined: the effect of discarding the smallest larvae (i.e. culling) and the effect of temperature...

Hatchery techniques are now well handled in an increasing number of aquaculture species. However, unintentional effects of domestication often remain poorly documented. In this context, we studied how current hatchery practices may genetically influence larval traits for which significant genetic variation had previously been reported in the Pacifi...

A DNA extraction procedure was developed for the detection of ostreid herpesvirus-1 (OsHV-1) using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in oyster larvae. The DNA extraction procedure developed was tested on 8 larval samples. Abnormal nuclei with characteristic features associated with OsHV-1 infections were only observed in samples in which the vira...

The Portuguese oyster, Crassostrea angulata, was introduced from Portugal to the French Atlantic Coast in the 1860s. C. angulata quickly settled and expanded and leaded to the development of a new aquacultural industry in France. In the late 1960s, mortality associated with the detection of an iridovirus, led to the wipe out of C. angulata from Fre...

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), and the Portuguese oyster, C. angulata (Lamarck), are two closely related taxa. Although these two taxa were both introduced from Asia into Europe. one (C. gigas) was voluntarily introduced in the early 1970s, whereas the other (C. angulata) was presumed to be present in Europe for at least four cen...

The effects of vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) and vitamin E (tocopherol) on the maternal performance and offspring quality of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii were investigated. Prawn females were fed four diets containing different levels of 2-ascorbyl-l-polyphosphate (ApP) and α-tocopherol acetate (α-TA) during 155 days. Three diets...

Abstract The growth and survival of the polychaete Nereis diversicolor (O. F. Müller, 1776) fed on faeces of the carpet shell clam Ruditapes decussatus (L., 1758) were studied under controlled temperature and salinity conditions. Juvenile worms were fed with clam R. decussatus faeces in the presence or absence of sediment during 65 days. Starvation...

A 65-day experiment was conducted to determine survival, growth, feed utilization and oogenesis of Nereis diversicolor (O. F. Müller, 1776), fed with a commercial dry diet developed for gilthead seabream Sparus auratus L., 1758. Worms were reared in three replicate tanks with 50 worms per tank (255 indiv · m�2). Tetramin®, a commonly used diet for...

Despite the economic importance of numerous oyster species throughout the world, our knowledge of their systematics and phylogeography remains fragmentary. In Europe, the indigenous species, Ostrea edulis, suffered overexploitation as well as two successive parasitosis over the last century. However, this species is still cultivated in Europe, and...

The taxonomic status of the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas has often been a matter of controversy. Based on larval shell morphology, experimental hybridisation and electrophoretic studies of enzyme polymorphism several authors have considered these two species as being synonymous. During the recent y...

Doutoramento em Ciências do Meio Aquático