Isabella Buttino

• Dr
• Researcher at Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)

The poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) is emerging as environmentally sustainable polyester for applications in marine environment. In this work the capacity of microbiome associated with marine plankton culture to degrade PBSA, was tested. A taxonomic and functional characterization of the microbiome associated with the copepod Acartia ton...

Citation: Vitiello, V.; Oliva, M.; Renzi, M.; Cuccaro, A.; Fumagalli, G.; Anselmi, S.; Bentivoglio, T.; Matarazzi, I.; Sanna, V.; Pellegrini, D.; et al. Ecotoxicological Assays with the Calanoid Copepod Acartia tonsa: A Comparison between Mediterranean and Baltic Strains. Water 2024, 16, 1171. Abstract: The use of marine invertebrates in ecotoxicol...

Copepods are the most abundant organisms in marine zooplankton and the primary components of the food chain. They are hotspots for highly adaptable microorganisms, which are pivotal in biogeochemical cycles. The microbiome, encompassing microorganisms within and surrounding marine planktonic organisms, holds considerable potential for biotechnologi...

The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a pivotal regulator of antioxidant gene expression in mammals, forming heterodimer complexes with small Maf proteins through its BZip domain. However, the underlying mechanism of Nrf2 action in molluscs remains poorly understood. The thick shell mussel, Mytilus coruscus, represents a model o...

Mytilus coruscus is an economically important marine bivalve mollusk found in the Yangtze River estuary, which experiences dramatic pH fluctuations due to seasonal freshwater input and suffer from shell fracture or injury in the natural environment. In this study, we used intact-shell and damaged-shell M. coruscus and performed metabolomic analysis...

Mytilus coruscus is an economically important marine calcifier living in the Yangtze River estuary sea area, where seasonal fluctuations in natural pH occur owing to freshwater input, resulting in a rapid reduction in seawater pH. In addition, Mytilus constantly suffers from shell fracture or injury in the natural environment, and the shell repair...

Marine sediments are regarded as sinks for several classes of contaminants. Characterization and effects of sediments on marine biota now require a multidisciplinary approach, which includes chemical and ecotoxicological analyses and molecular biomarkers. Here, a gene expression study was performed to measure the response of adult females of the Me...

Ocean warming can cause injury and death in mussels and is believed to be one of the main reasons for extensive die-offs of mussel populations worldwide. However, the biological processes by which mussels respond to heat stress are still unclear. In this study, we conducted an analysis of enzyme activity and TMT-labelled based proteomic in the dige...

The thick-shell mussel Mytilus coruscus serves as a common sessile intertidal species and holds economic significance as an aquatic organism. M. coruscus often endure higher temperatures than their ideal range during consecutive low tides in the spring. This exposure to elevated temperatures provides them with a thermal tolerance boost, enabling th...

As a result of global warming, the Mytilus coruscus living attached in the intertidal zone experience extreme and fluctuating changes in temperature, and extreme temperature changes are causing mass mortality of intertidal species. This study explores the transcriptional response of M. coruscus at different temperatures (18 °C, 26 °C, and 33 °C) an...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are crucial players in immune recognition and regulation, with aberrant activation leading to autoimmune, chronic inflammatory, and infectious diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to regulate gene expression at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. While miRNA-mediated regulation of TLR signaling has be...

The use of eco-friendly engineered nanomaterials represents a recent solution for an effective and safe treatment of contaminated dredging sludge. In this study, an eco-designed engineered material based on cross-linked nanocellulose (CNS) was applied for the first time to decontaminate a real matrix from heavy metals (namely Zn, Ni, Cu, and Fe) an...

Zooplankton assemblage was studied during seasonal aggregation of the whale shark Rhincodon typus in Nosy Be Island, a hotspot area in the Mozambique Channel. Two different sampling sites were identified in the outer neritic zone: a Feeding area, where whale shark was commonly sighted, and a Control area, never frequented by R. typus. The aim was t...

Mytilus shows great immune resistance to various bacteria from the living waters, indicating a complex immune recognition mechanism against various microbes. Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) play an important role in the defense against invading microbes via the recognition of the immunogenic substance peptidoglycan (PGN). Therefore, eigh...

In this study, seven transcripts representing a novel antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family with structural features similar to those of arthropod defensins were identified from Mytilus coruscus. These novel defensins from the Mytilus AMP family were named myticofensins. To explore the possible immune-related functions of these myticofensins, we exami...

Research to assess the impacts of mariculture on the microbiota of the surrounding environment is still inadequate. Here, we examined the effects of Mytilus coruscus farming on the diversity of bacterial community in surrounding seawater using field investigations and indoor simulations, focusing on the variation of members of aerobic anoxygenic ph...

Microalgae are the primary source of food and energy for marine bivalves, and hence play a vital role in their development and growth. To characterize the microalgal feeding preference and the effects of fatty acid composition and digestive gland microorganisms on Mytilus, four microalgal species (Chlorella vulgaris, Chaetoceros muelleri, Isochrysi...

Carnosine and its analogues are histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) playing diverse functions in vertebrates. However, the distribution and the metabolism of carnosine in invertebrates are still unknown. In this study, Mytilus coruscus, a shellfish with important economic value in China, was selected for the investigation of HCD content and the...

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a fundamental role in mussels' innate immunity, preventing the invasion of potential pathogens. Previous research has shown that AMPs are abundant in Mytilus species. A mussel with important economic value and limited distribution in the East China Sea, M. coruscus, also contains abundant AMPs, including the mytic...

Zooplankton, collected in the Gulf of Tadjoura (Republic of Djibouti) during a cruise conducted to study the feeding behavior of the whale shark Rhincodon typus, was analyzed in terms of size class, abundance and species composition. This pilot study was aimed to better understand a possible correlation between mesozooplankton composition and size...

Margalef and Shannon-wiener Indexes

Mytilus can survive in heavily anthropized coastal waters despite being constantly surrounded by abundant microorganisms, indicating an environmental adaptation and therefore an important research significance for this species. However, there is a qualitative and quantitative lack of knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in the physiology...

Zinc environmental levels are increasing due to human activities, posing a threat to ecosystems and human health. Therefore, new tools able to remediate Zn contamination in freshwater are highly recommended. Specimens of Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) were exposed for 48 h and 7 days to a wide range of ZnCl2 nominal concentrations (1–10–50–100...

Histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) have been demonstrated with important physiological functions in vertebrates. This study was executed to investigate the contents and metabolic profiles of HCDs in an invertebrate, the mussel Mytilus coruscus was selected. The carnosine/anserine analysis indicated that M. coruscus contain anserine with a highe...

The calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa is one of the most frequently used organisms in acute, short-term bioassays to assess effects induced by marine matrices or chemicals on different life stages. Physiological responses in such tests can be highly variable and historical control data (HCD), values recorded from previous studies performed under simil...

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play an essential role in xenobiotic resistance through transporting xenobiotics into or out of cells. However, their functional role in mollusk's defense against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) remains unclear. In the present study, novel McoABCB1 and McoABCC transporters were identified in the gills...

The sensitivity of the copepods Acartia tonsa, commonly used in standardized tests for environmental risk assessment and A. clausi, the dominant autochthonous congener species in the Mediterranean Sea, was assessed using sediment-derived elutriates from the industrial area of Bagnoli-Coroglio and nickel chloride as referent toxicant. Acute A. claus...

It is known that juveniles whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) have tendency to gather, seasonally, in a few coastal areas around the world to feed on zooplankton; however little is known about their food preferences. The CSS (Centro Studi Squali) scientific coordinator of the project “Whale shark feeding ecology” (in partnership with University of Cala...

Bioassays with sea urchin embryos are widely used to define the environmental quality of marine waters. Anomalies during embryogenesis are generally considered as end-points, whereas a toxigenomic approach, despite it is wide use in other species, is yet in its infancy. In the present study we evaluated toxigenic effects induced by copper on the se...

The calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa is a reference species in standardized ecotoxicology bioassay. Despite this interest, there is a lack of knowledge on molecular responses of A. tonsa to contaminants. We generated a de novo assembled transcriptome of A. tonsa exposed 4 days to 8.5 and 17 mg/L nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs), which have been shown to...

This special issue collected papers reporting about the research activities and case studies presented during the “7th Biannual ECOtoxicology MEeting (BECOME 2016) - Managing aquatic and terrestrial environments: an ecotoxicological perspective” held in November 22th–24th, 2016, at the Natural History Museum of Livorno (Italy). Previous similar eve...

The copepod Acartia tonsa was used as a model species to assess marine sediment quality. Acute and chronic bioassays, such as larval development ratio (LDR) and different end-points were evaluated. As a pelagic species, A. tonsa is mainly exposed to water-soluble toxicants and bioassays are commonly performed in seawater. However, an interaction am...

Introduced Marine Pests (IMP, = non-indigenous marine species) prevention, early detection and risk-based management strategies have become the priority for biosecurity operations worldwide, in recognition of the fact that, once established, the effective management of marine pests can rapidly become cost prohibitive or impractical. In Western Aust...

During a 5 days research expedition performed in January, some observations on a whale shark population were performed. Just 7 specimens have been observed and identified. This number of sharks is lower than that observed in previous report and similar research efforts. Recent remote sensing studies showed summer phytoplanktonic bloom higher than i...

The calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa has been recommended as a marine organism for ecotoxicological tests due to its wide distribution, short life cycle and high productivity. This species is used in acute and chronic toxicity tests to assess water and sediment quality; egg hatching success and the survival of the first larval stages are considered e...

Nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) are increasingly used in modern industries as catalysts, sensors and in electronic applications. Due to this large use, their inputs into marine environment have significantly increased; however, the potential ecotoxicological effects in marine environment have so far received little attention. In particular, little is...

On 17 December 2011, the RO-RO ferry ”Eurocargo Venezia” during the crossing Catania-Genoa because of adverse sea conditions lost at sea two trailers containing 198 barrels of spent catalyst rich in heavy metal (nickel and molybdenum oxides). The research has led to the location (400m depth) of a large number of drums off the Isle of Gorgona (Tyrrh...

Diatoms are eukaryotic unicellular plants that constitute one of the major components of marine phytoplankton, comprising up to 40% of annual productivity at sea and representing 25% of global carbon-fixation. Diatoms have traditionally been considered a preferential food for zooplankton grazers such as copepods, but, in the last two decades, this...

In this study, we analysed the effect of population density and food concentration on the fecundity of a Mediterranean strain of Acartia tonsa to maximize egg production. During 4-day feeding experiments, egg hatching success and faecal pellet production were also followed. The algae Rhinomonas reticulata was supplied at different concentrations co...

http://www.ttl.fi/en/publications/Electronic_publications/Nanosafety_in_europe_2015-2025/Documents/nanosafety_2015-2025.pdf

Many diatoms, a major class of unicellular algae contributing to over 45% of oceanic primary production, are known to induce deleterious effects on reproductive processes in crustacean copepods. This is mainly due to the production of teratogenic oxylipins, including polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs). Here we tested the direct effect of the PUA 2E,4...

The influence of six monoalgal diets was tested on the reproductive success of the copepod Acartia tonsa over a 15-day period in order to define the most favorable diet for the optimization of this copepod species to be used in aquaculture and in ecotoxicology applications. The cryptophytes Rhinomonas reticulata and Rhodomonas baltica induced highe...

Planktonic communities hold a relevant role in the framework of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This paper summarizes the current state of art in the use of plankton as indicator for the assessment of the environmental status of marine environments, contributing to the discussion of new perspectives in its application for the implementa...

Planktonic communities hold a relevant role in the framework of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This paper summarizes the current state of art in the use of plankton as indicator for the assessment of the environmental status of marine environments, contributing to the discussion of new perspectives in its application for the implementa...

The availability of standardized protocols for both organism culture and bioassay with ecologically relevant species is of great concern in ecotoxicology. Acartia tonsa represents an important, often dominant, member of zooplankton communities and meets all the practical criteria suggested for model species. New standardized procedures for laborato...

External stress can induce apoptosis in cells and tissues and can be revealed by immuno-fluorescence techniques. Here we applied different fluorescent techniques to study induction of apoptosis in the copepod Acartia tonsa nauplii exposed to low concentrations of Nickel Chloride. Nauplii were exposed to different concentrations of NiCl2 0.016; 0.02...

Effect of NOS inhibitors on sea urchin development. (A) Control. (B, C, D) L-NA at 20, 50 and 100 µM, respectively. (E, F, G) D-NA at 20, 50 and 100 µM, respectively. (H, I, J) TRIM at 20, 50 and 100 µM, respectively. The images were taken at 48 hpf. (TIF)

Diatoms are ubiquitous and abundant primary producers that have been traditionally considered as a beneficial food source for grazers and for the transfer of carbon through marine food webs. However, many diatom species produce polyunsaturated aldehydes that disrupt development in the offspring of grazers that feed on these unicellular algae. Here...

Apoptosis or programmed cell death is the result of complex biochemical and genetic signals triggered by normal physiological events or by exposure to toxic compounds. Apoptosis can be revealed early in cells and tissues due to morphological and biochemical alterations of the cell. Here, we review recent progress in the study of the induction and d...

The copepod Temora stylifera was fed with the pennate diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima for 15days. This diatom does not produce polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) but only synthesizes other oxylipins such as the hydroxyacid (5Z,8Z,11Z,13E,15S,17Z)-15-hydroxy-5,8,11,13,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (15S-HEPE). Effects of this monoalgal diet were compa...

A pilot re-circulating system was used for the cultivation of two Mediterranean calanoid copepods: Temora stylifera and Centropages typicus. The system automatically concentrated the naupliar and copepodite stages. Temora stylifera was fed the flagellate Rhodomonas baltica or Prorocentrum minimum, whereas C. typicus was fed with a mixture of R. bal...

Diatoms are ubiquitous and abundant primary producers that have been traditionally considered as a beneficial food source for grazers and for the transfer of carbon through marine food webs. However, many diatom species produce polyunsaturated aldehydes that disrupt development in the offspring of grazers that feed on these unicellular algae. Here...

copepod as potential live preys in Hippocampus aquaculture

Copepods represent an important natural food supply for many fish larvae but they are not commonly used in aquaculture. The aim of this project is: 1) to set up an experimental re-circulating system to breed the copepod Temora stylifera and 2) to replace Artemia salina with T. stylifera as live food for Sparus aurata larvae. The choice of this cope...

In this study we evaluated the effects of a standard rotifers/ Artemia (control) diet and a copepod ( Centropages typicus ) based diet during Amphiprion clarkii larviculture. On day 11 post hatch, larvae fed C. typicus showed better survival and growth compared to those fed a standard rotifer/ Artemia diet (87±2 vs 41±2%; 6.8± 0.2mm vs 6.1± 0.2mm;...

Temora stylifera adult copepods were fed with four different monoalgal diets and six combinations of the same cultures for 15days. Fecundity, hatching success, number of cannibalized embryos, fecal pellet production, adult mortality and naupliar recruitment were compared, in order to find the best diet for this species. Phytoplankton species tested...

In the present study we demonstrated the efficiency of the Mediterranean calanoid copepod Centropages typicus as live prey in Amphiprion clarkii larviculture. After hatching, larvae were divided into two experimental groups as follows: group A (control) fed rotifers followed by Artemia nauplii and group B fed C. typicus nauplii and copepodites. On...

In the last decade, there has been an increased awareness that secondary metabolites produced by marine diatoms negatively impact the reproductive success of their principal predators, the copepods. Several oxylipins, products of the enzymatic oxidation of fatty acids, are produced when these unicellular algae are damaged, as occurs during grazing....

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of the harpacticoid copepod Tisbe spp as prey in Amphiprion clarkii larviculture. After hatching, A. clarkii larvae were divided in four experimental groups for feeding studies as follows: group A (control group) fed rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) followed by Artemia nauplii; group B fed a m...

Hippolyte inermis Leach 1814 is a benthic shrimp characterized by a peculiar mechanism of sex reversal influenced by diatom foods. In fact, the appearance of primary females in spring is due to an apoptotic early disruption of the androgenic gland and of the male gonad, triggered by still unknown compounds present in diatoms of the genus Cocconeis....

A multiphasic approach was applied to investigate the structural features of phototrophic biofilms that grow in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Fiumicino Airport (Rome, Italy). Seasonal variations in species composition, biomass and exopolysaccharides produced were analyzed by light (LM) and electron microscopy (SEM), high performance liquid...

In the future, if marine science is to achieve any progress in addressing biological diversity of ocean plankton, then it needs to sponsor development of new technology. One requirement is the development of high-resolution sensors for imaging field-collected and in situ specimens in a non-invasive manner. The rapid automatic categorisation of spec...

ABSTRACT: In the future, if marine science is to achieve any progress in addressing biological diversity of ocean plankton, then it needs to sponsor development of new technology. One requirement is the development of high-resolution sensors for imaging field-collected and in situ specimens in a non-invasive manner. The rapid automatic categorisati...

Giant liposomes are proposed as a potential delivery system in marine copepods, the dominant constituent of the zooplankton. Liposomes were prepared in the same size range as the food ingested by copepods (mean diameter of about 7 microm). The encapsulation of a hydrophilic and high molecular mass fluorescent compound, fluorescein isothiocyanate-de...

From 3 to 6 November 2002, a colloquium was convened at the Benthos Laboratory of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn on Ischia, Italy, with the goal of evaluating the present status of the effects of diatoms on their main consumers, the planktonic copepods, and to develop future research strategies to enhance our understanding of such interactions....

From 3 to 6 November 2002, a colloquium was convened at the Benthos Laboratory of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn on Ischia, Italy, with the goal of evaluating the present status of the effects of diatoms on their main consumers, planktonic copepods, and to develop future research strategies to enhance our understanding of such interactions. The...

The growth cycle in nutrient-rich, aquatic environments starts with a diatom bloom that ends in mass sinking of ungrazed cells and phytodetritus. The low grazing pressure on these blooms has been attributed to the inability of overwintering copepod populations to track them temporally. We tested an alternative explanation: that dominant diatom spec...

Vital fluorescent probes have routinely been used to distinguish viable from non-viable embryos in various veterinary and aquaculture studies. Here, we present new protocols to rapidly detect embryo viability in the copepod Calanus helgolandicus using three of these probes, fluorescein diacetate (FDA), SYTOX green and 7-aminoactinomycinD (7-AAD), a...

Ecophysiology Laboratory, Stazione Zoologica A. Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy. ianora@szn.it The growth cycle in nutrient-rich, aquatic environments starts with a diatom bloom that ends in mass sinking of ungrazed cells and phytodetritus. The low grazing pressure on these blooms has been attributed to the inability of overwintering cop...