Kathrin Theissinger

LOEWE centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics Senckenberg Nature Research Institute · Functional Environmental Genomics

This is only pre-proof!

Calling amphibian male counts (CAMC) is a cost-effective non-invasive acoustic monitoring method that needs amphibian community quality assessment system. In our survey we considered breeding amphibian assemblages as entities having three main ecological traits, size, richness and evenness, and tested the reliability of potentially suitable metrics...

Climate change has amplified the threat posed by aquatic invasive species as potential disruptors of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Species Distribution Models (MaxEnt) based on original data and ecological variables have identified contemporary seven global centers of the oriental rivel prawn Macrobrachium nipponense distribution: the nat...

Freshwater turtles are often used as terrarium pets, especially juveniles of exotic species. At the adult stage they are often released by their owners into the wild despite their high invasion potential. In Europe these thermophilic potentially invasive alien species occupy the habitats of the native European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus...

Transcription factors (TFs) have an important role in the regulation of the gene expression network. The role of TFs in the immune response of freshwater crayfish is poorly understood, but leveraging the regulatory mechanisms of immune response could augment the resistance against the invasive oomycete pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci. Previous studies...

Background Biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems is declining due to an increased anthropogenic footprint. Freshwater crayfish are keystone species in freshwater ecosystems and play a crucial role in shaping the structure and function of their habitats. The Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis is a native European species with a narrow distri...

Introduced into Europe from North America 150 years ago alongside its native crayfish hosts, the invasive pathogen Aphanomyces astaci is considered one of the main causes of European crayfish population decline. For the past two centuries, this oomycete pathogen has been extensively studied, with the more recent efforts focused on containing and...

Aquaculture’s role in addressing food security has grown, with a spotlight on Asian carp species. Polyculture, i.e. cultivating multiple fish species in a single system, is being increasingly adopted for its resource efficiency and economic benefits. This practice for Asian fish for food and ornamental purposes is gaining traction in Europe despite...

Crayfish plague is a devastating disease of European freshwater crayfish and is caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci (Ap. astaci), believed to have been introduced to Europe around 1860. All European species of freshwater crayfish are susceptible to the disease, including the white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes. Ap. astaci is prima...

Soil invertebrates are among the least understood metazoans on Earth. Thus far, the lack of taxonomically broad and dense genomic resources has made it hard to thoroughly investigate their evolution and ecology. With MetaInvert we provide draft genome assemblies for 232 soil invertebrate species, representing 14 common groups and 94 families. We sh...

The conservation and management of riparian ecosystems rely on understanding the ecological consequences of anthropogenic stressors that impact natural communities. In this context, studies investigating the effects of anthropogenic stressors require reliable methods capable of mapping the relationships between taxa occurrence or abundance and envi...

Mass mortality events among European freshwater crayfish populations are usually attributed to the invasive crayfish plague pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci. However, it has recently been shown that crayfish plague-like mass mortalities can also be caused by the RNA viruses, such as the Bunya-like Brown Spot Virus (BBSV). To this date, 32 viral pathoge...

One of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems are alien invasive species. In Europe, pathogen Aphanomyces astaci Schikora, 1906, is considered as one of the most problematic invasive species, as its introduction caused the severe decimation of the European freshwater crayfish stocks. The most affected are the populations of...

crayfish plague, intra-specific variability, virulence, GWAS, SNPs analysis

Aphanomyces astaci, Astacus astacus, panzootic, transcriptomics, invertebrate immunology

Recent findings point to the existence of immune memory in invertebrates. Some species show an improved immune response to pathogen challenge after previous nonlethal exposures to the pathogen or its analogues. This mechanism, although little studied in freshwater crayfish, could have significant applications in aquaculture. Here, we explored the e...

Repetitive elements are a major component of DNA sequences due to their ability to propagate through the genome. Characterization of Metazoan repetitive profiles is picking up, however, current pipelines are failing to identify a significant proportion of divergent repeats in non-model organisms. The order Decapoda, for which repeat content analyse...

Semi-aquatic European water frogs (Pelophylax spp.) harbour rich helminth infra-communities, whose effects on host population size in nature are poorly known. To study top-down and bottom-up effects, we conducted calling male water frog counts and parasitological investigations of helminths in waterbodies from different regions of Latvia, supplemen...

Alien invasive species are major contributors to biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems. The invasive pathogen Aphanomyces astaci decimated multiple populations of the noble crayfish, keystone species native to European freshwaters. Temporal dynamics of the host's immune response to the pathogen infection represent a baseline knowledge for cons...

Citation: Pupins, M.; Nekrasova, O.; Tytar, V.; Garkajs, A.; Petrov, I.; Morozova, A.; Theissinger, K.; Ceirāns, A.; Skute, A.; Georges, J.-Y. Geographically Isolated Wetlands as a Reserve for the Conservation of Amphibian Biodiversity at the Edge of Their Range. Diversity 2023, 15, 461. Abstract: Wetlands are of great importance for biodiversity a...

Soil invertebrates are among the least understood metazoans on Earth. Thus far, the lack of taxonomically broad and dense genomic resources has made it hard to thoroughly investigate their evolution and ecology. With MetaInvert we provide draft genome assemblies for 232 soil invertebrate species, representing 14 common groups and 94 families. We sh...

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prere...

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prere...

In the modern world, when the problems of the environment are most acutely associated with climate change, amphibians are considered to be the most vulnerable group of anamniotes as an indicator of the state of wetlands. Along with a decrease of numbers among amphibians in Europe, nowadays newts especially suffer from the impact of invasive species...

The influence of Asian fish species on the natural ecosystems of Europe is poorly understood. The popularity of these species in pond aquaculture contributes to their European-wide invasion. There are conflicting opinions on how Asian carps may affect natural ecosystems, either positively by control of "water bloom" as fish food, or negatively by r...

The dataset STRIVE consists of two files which contain: (1) measurements of wet weight (g) and total length (mm) of juvenile marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) used in infection trials performed at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb; and (2) records of juvenile marbled crayfish mortality and detection of cray...

Joint ESENIAS & DIAS Conference 2022 and 11th ESENIAS Workshop, Demre, Antalya, Turkey, 13-15 November 2022

An ecological disaster based on human ignorance of scientific facts: the deliberate introduction of alien crayfish to Europe is a classic case of solving an ecosystem problem created by a mistake by making another. The devastation of the native European crayfish populations was a result of accidental introduction of crayfish plague (Aphanomyces ast...

Invasive alien crayfish threaten the diversity of freshwater ecosystems and native crayfish fauna. In Europe, this is largely due to transmission of the crayfish plague to susceptible native crayfish. Many invasive species tolerate crayfish plague, but the infection still has the potential to reduce the fitness of a tolerant host due to energy trad...

Objectives: Crayfish plague disease, caused by the oomycete pathogen Aphanomyces astaci represents one of the greatest risks for the biodiversity of the freshwater crayfish. This data article covers the de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation data of the noble crayfish and the marbled crayfish challenged with Ap. astaci. Following the control...

Background: For over a century, scientists have studied host-pathogen interactions between the crayfish plague disease agent Aphanomyces astaci and freshwater crayfish. It has been hypothesised that North American crayfish hosts are disease-resistant due to the long-lasting coevolution with the pathogen. Similarly, the increasing number of latent...

Ponds in agricultural landscapes are often used by amphibians as breeding habitat. However, the characteristics of agricultural ponds and especially the surrounding area are usually said to be suboptimal for many amphibian species. Using suboptimal habitats might allow a species' survival and reproduction, but can have negative consequences at the...

Pesticides are one of the main drivers of the worldwide amphibian decline. Their actual toxicity depends on a number of factors, like the species in focus or the developmental stage of exposed individuals. As ectothermic species, the metabolism of amphibians is influenced by ambient temperature. Therefore, temperature also affects metabolic rates a...

This material is a brief description of the basic methods of collecting green frogs for scientific and environmental studies by the hand net catching, used by the authors for many years in Latvia. The preparation for catching, he equipment, the basic methods of catching and storage frogs are described. The material can be used for sampling green fr...

Raputaru kertoo tarinan jokiravun kohtalosta ympäristömuutosten, rapuruton ja täpläravun paineessa. Opettavainen tarina korostaa luonnon merkitystä ja kotoperäisten lajien uhanalaista asemaa ja muistuttaa hyvinvoivan luonnon merkityksestä meille kaikille. Löytyy katseltavaksi täältä: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJp9w0cEUNk.

We are discussing the matters related to the definitions and practicalities of species, in this case being crayfish, to be either alien or native. A species can not be both. We are also discussing the implications of native or alien definitions been applied to practical cases. One of our main aims is to halt the alien species to be called native.

An educational animation based on the story of noble crayfish and its fate in the hands of the crayfish plague and signal crayfish. A story on the effects of the alien crayfish species on European aquatic ecosystems and native crayfish. It is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZLIaCJOwPo

Exotic aquatic turtle species often become favorite pets, especially juveniles. Later, at the adult stage, they are commonly released into the wild. However, questions remain - how likely it is that, these thermophilic exotic turtles can establish themselves in Eastern Europe and neighboring territories.

Along with decrease in numbers among amphibians in Eastern Europe nowadays newts especially suffer from invasive predatory fish and turtles. Such aggressive predator as P. glenii has recently occupied water bodies important for newts' breeding. The fish eat eggs, larvae and even adult individuals. Using the ecological niche approach, it was showed...

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics,...

Freshwater ecosystem functioning is often thought to be dominated by fish, determining the community structure via top-down control and ecosystem engineering. However, freshwater crayfish can have an even stronger effect on food web and ecosystem functioning, operating as keystone species in a water body (Longshaw and Stebbing, 2016). As environmen...

The crayfish plague disease agent, Aphanomyces astaci, has coevolved with the native European crayfish since its arrival to mainland Europe in the 1860s. There are indications that some of the A. astaci strains are of reduced virulence, while the resistance against A. astaci infection varies among native European crayfish stocks. In Lake Venesjärvi...

Presented at the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Diversity (IECD 2022)—New Insights into the 18 Biodiversity of Plants, Animals and Microbes, 15–30 March 2022; Available online: https://scifo-19 rum.net/event/IECD2022.

The invasive spiny-cheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus) has been able to colonize many European waterbodies since its first introduction into Europe, threatening the indigenous crayfish fauna. The remarkable reproductive plasticity of this species has been suggested as an important factor contributing to the alarming invasiveness of this species. In t...

Freshwater ecosystem functioning is often thought to be dominated by fish, determining the community structure via top-down control and ecosystem engineering. However, freshwater crayfish can have an even stronger effect on food web and ecosystem functioning, operating as keystone species in a water body (Longshaw & Stebbing, 2016). As environmenta...

Aphanomyces astaci is an Oomycete pathogen listed amongst the 100 worst invasive species worldwide. It was first introduced into Europe with invasive North American crayfish species and caused the collapse of numerous native freshwater crayfish populations. It is hypothesised that some of the first A. astaci strains to reach Europe, belonging to ha...

The introduction of North American freshwater crayfish and their hitchhiking pathogen Aphanomyces astaci into Europe has led to several mass mortalities among native European crayfish populations. However, several studies have indicated a great variability of pathogen virulence and host resistance, possibly indicating host-pathogen adaptation. This...

Pesticides are one of the main drivers of the worldwide amphibian decline. Their actual toxicity depends on a number of factors, like the species in focus or the developmental stage of exposed individuals. As ectothermic species, the metabolism of amphibians is influenced by ambient temperature. Therefore, temperature also affects metabolic rates a...

For 150 years the crayfish plague disease agent Aphanomyces astaci has been the cause of mass mortalities among native European crayfish populations. However, recently several studies have highlighted the great variability of A. astaci virulence and crayfish resistance toward the disease. The main aim of this study was to compare the response of tw...

Native European crayfish conservation was triggered by invasion of crayfish plague disease agent, Aphanomyces astaci, starting 1860s in Northern Italy. Resulting crayfish plague epidemics quickly spread over Continental Europe, then to Finland, Sweden and finally, after running amok around Europe, A. astaci was discovered also in Iberian Peninsula,...

Freshwater crayfish represent keystone species of the freshwater ecosystems. With the introduction of invasive North American crayfish species and their pathogen Aphanomyces astaci a significant decline in the size and abundance of European freshwater crayfish populations was observed. Marbled crayfish is an invasive species exhibiting a high resis...

The invasive spiny-cheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus) has been able to colonize many European waterbodies since its first introduction into Europe, threatening the indigenous crayfish fauna. Faxonius limosus' remarkable reproductive plasticity has been suggested as an important factor contributing to this species' alarming invasiveness. This is the...

Abstract Introduction of invasive North American crayfish species and their pathogen Aphanomyces astaci has significantly contributed to the decline of European freshwater crayfish populations. In this study, noble crayfish, a susceptible native European species, and marbled crayfish, an invasive disease-resistant species, were challenged with ha...

Introduction of invasive North American crayfish species and their pathogen Aphanomyces astaci has significantly contributed to the decline of European freshwater crayfish populations. In this study, noble crayfish, a susceptible native European species, and marbled crayfish, an invasive disease-resistant species, were challenged with haplogroup A...

Chironomids have been proposed as important indicators for monitoring freshwater ecosystems, however, morphological determination is very challenging. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of metabarcoding for chironomid diversity assessment and tested the retrieved chironomid operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for possible changes in re...

Most agricultural soils are expected to be contaminated with agricultural chemicals. As the exposure to pesticides can have adverse effects on non-target organisms, avoiding contaminated areas would be advantageous on an individual level, but could lead to a chemical landscape fragmentation with disadvantages on the metapopulation level. We investi...