Seila Díaz

University of Santiago de Compostela | USC · Centro de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CIMUS)

Histopathological analysis of soft-shell clams Mya arenaria collected from 2 northwest Russian locations disclosed high prevalence of 2 pathological gill conditions. One involved the occurrence of more or less extended gill areas in which the branchial filaments showed hyperchromatic (basophilic) epithelium with some hypertrophied nuclei, which wer...

Shell color shows broad variation within mollusc species and despite information on the genetic pathways involved in shell construction and color has recently increased, more studies are needed to understand its genetic architecture. The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a valuable species from ecological and commercial perspectives which shows...

Transmissible cancers are malignant cell clones that spread among individuals through transfer of living cancer cells. Several such cancers, collectively known as bivalve transmissible neoplasia (BTN), are known to infect and cause leukaemia in marine bivalve molluscs. This is the case of BTN clones affecting the common cockle, Cerastoderma edule ,...

Shell colour pattern shows broad diversity in molluscs, and both genetic and environmental factors seem to interact to some extent on the final phenotype. Despite information on the genetic component and pathways involved in shell construction and colour has increased in the last decade, more data are needed particularly to understand colour variat...

Clonally transmissible cancers are tumour lineages that are transmitted between individuals via the transfer of living cancer cells. In marine bivalves, leukaemia-like transmissible cancers, called hemic neoplasia (HN), have demonstrated the ability to infect individuals from different species. We performed whole-genome sequencing in eight warty ve...

Geographic origin is directly linked to the quality and commercial value of bivalves. The globalization of the seafood trade and the increasing number of fraudulent practices in the bivalves industry has prompted consumers to become increasingly aware on the geographic origin of the seafood they consume. To enhance consumers' confidence and allow a...

Bivalves are some of the most valued and consumed seafood species worldwide. However, these organisms can represent a threat to consumers’ health, particularly the suspension feeder species harvested from contaminated areas (e.g., historical pollution by heavy metals or toxins produced by phytoplankton). The elemental composition of bivalve shells...

Clonally transmissible cancers are tumour lineages that are transmitted between individuals via the transfer of living cancer cells. In marine bivalves, leukemia-like transmissible cancers, called hemic neoplasia, have demonstrated the ability to infect individuals from different species. We performed whole-genome sequencing in eight warty venus cl...

The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is one of the most traded bivalves in the world. Knowing its harvesting location is therefore paramount to guarantee the safety of consumers. The present study employs fatty acid (FA) profiles of the adductor muscle (AM) to reveal the most likely harvesting location of four batches of Manila clams suspected...

Cockles are highly appreciated mollusks and provide important services in coastal areas. The two European species, edible (Cerastoderma edule) and lagoon (Cerastoderma glaucum) cockles, are not easily distinguishable, especially when young. Interestingly, the species show different resistance to Marteilia cochillia, the parasite responsible for mar...

Cockles, Cerastoderma edule frequently suffer high prevalence of disseminated neoplasia throughout its geographical distribution. However, a natural population with gonadal neoplasia has never been detected before. Germinoma prevalences of 15.4% were found in Denmark populations using histopathological techniques. This germinoma affects only male c...

The recent discovery of clonally transmissible cancers, somatic cell lineages capable of infecting other individuals through the physical transfer of living cells, means having a great model to study cancer metastasis. Disseminated neoplasia, a leukaemia-like cancer is found in multiple bivalve species around the world, including cockles and by ana...

Altas mortalidades en bancos de berberecho, C. edule, han sido asociadas con diferentes parásitos o alteraciones patológicas (Carballal et al, 2001). Villalba et al. en 2001 asocian una alta mortalidad de berberechos en Vicedo con dos alteraciones patológicas importantes: una neoplasia diseminada y otra patología denominada “grandes focos de infilt...

DNA methylation is the best studied epigenetic marker, being essential in regulating gene expression and gene silencing in the eukaryotic genome. Different cell types have specific and pre-established DNA methylation profiles according to their organic function. Alterations in this profile may lead to cell malfunction, illness and, ultimately, tumo...

Clonally transmissible cancers are somatic cell lineages transmitted between individuals via the transfer of living cancer cells. There are only three known types of naturally occurring clonally transmissible cancers, one of which is a leukaemia-like cancer found in cockles, called disseminated neoplasia (DN). Using DN as a model to identify the ge...

Cockle Cerastoderma edule is a species of great commercial interest in Galicia, lt is one of the bivalve species with more annual catches and, therefore, has a high economic and ecological importance in this region. Pathological studies associated with cockle mortality events in Galicia detected high prevalence of a pathological condition known as...

Transmissible cancers are somatic cell lineages that spread between individuals via the physical transfer of living cancer cells, becoming able to survive in time through multiple generations due to an unlimited proliferation among host population. To our knowledge, only eight transmissible cancers have been reported in nature. The oldest one of...

La accesibilidad a las técnicas de secuenciación masiva (NGS), hasta hace poco restringidas a estudios de biomedicina, están revolucionando los estudios genéticos. En este estudio se presentan datos preliminares del tamaño del genoma del berberecho Cerastoderma edule, punto de partida para la obtención del genoma de referencia de esta especie. La s...

La accesibilidad a las técnicas de secuenciación masiva (NGS), hasta hace poco restringidas a estudios de biomedicina, están revolucionando los estudios genéticos. En este estudio se presentan datos preliminares del tamaño del genoma del berberecho Cerastoderma edule, punto de partida para la obtención del genoma de referencia de esta especie. La s...

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) reaches high prevalence in some Galician cockle Cerastoderma edule beds, with epidemic dynamics suggesting it is communicable. DN transmission was addressed through various procedures; the disease was transmitted to healthy cockles by co-habitation in tanks with DN-affected cockles and by inoculation of intact haemolymph...

The dynamics of disseminated neoplasia (DN) affecting cockles Cerastoderma edule (L.) in Galicia was addressed at individual and population levels. Early stage of DN was characterized by isolated neoplastic cells occurring in branchial vessels or in the connective tissue of gills, mantle, gonad or digestive gland. As disease progressed, the neoplas...

Cockle Cerastoderma edule is a species of great commercial interest in Galicia. It is one of the bivalve species with more annual catches and, therefore, has a high economic and ecological importance in this region. Pathological studies associated with cockle mortality events in Galicia detected high prevalence of a pathological condition known as...

A proliferative disease, usually referred as disseminated neoplasia (DN), shows high prevalence in some cockle Cerastoderma edule beds of Galicia (NW Spain). Chromosome counts, examination of chromosome morphology, DNA quantification by flow cytometry and estimation of apoptosis frequency by TUNEL assay and flow cytometry were performed in cockles...

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) is a pathological condition reported for several species of marine bivalves throughout the world, but its aetiology has not yet been satisfactorily explained. It has been suggested that chemical contamination could be a factor contributing to neoplasia. The aim of the present study was to compare cell and tissue biomarke...

This study reports evidence of a neoplastic disorder in the clam Venerupis aurea. In the first stage of the disease, masses of neoplastic cells were mainly observed in connective tissue of gills. These masses of neoplastic cells appeared more compact than in cases of disseminated neoplasia of other bivalve molluscs. As disease progresses, masses of...

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) is a progressive and lethal condition of bivalves characterized by the presence of neoplastic cells in the circulatory system and organs. This leukemia-like disease has been reported in association with massive mortalities in different bivalve shellfish. Although the factor responsible for causing DN has not been determi...

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) has been detected in cockles from various beds in Galicia (NW Spain). A study was performed to characterise cockle neoplastic cell ultrastructure and to evaluate the effect of this disease at different severity stages on various haemolymph cell parameters. Examination of cockle neoplastic cells with transmission electron...

High prevalence of disseminated neoplasia has been found in cockles Cerastoderma edule of Galicia (NW Spain). Disseminated neoplasia has been associated with high mortalities of various bivalve species. In vertebrates, proteins such as p53 and heat shock proteins (HSPs) play important roles in carcinogenesis. The protein p53 has been detected in ne...

Disseminated neoplasia has been found in several mollusc species around the world, cockles Cerastoderma edule in Galicia (NW Spain) among them. Disseminated neoplasia is characterized by the presence of hypertrophied cells with a high nucleus/cytoplasm ratio and frequently mitotic figures. Neoplastic cells invade multiple organs of the cockles in t...

Disseminated neoplasia is a pathologic condition reported in various bivalve species. High prevalence of neoplasia has been reported in Galician cockles. The haemocytes are progressively replaced by neoplastic cells as disseminated neoplasia advances in cockles. Thus the loss of haemocytes and their associates defence function could leave the host...

Epizootiologic outbreaks of disseminated neoplasia have been reported in association with massive mortalities of various bivalve species. In cockles, Cerastoderma edule, this pathological condition was described in Ireland and France. Since 1997, different populations affected by this pathology have been detected in Galicia (NW Spain). Transmission...

Cysts with spores showing different degree of maturity and a single plasmodium were observed in the connective tissue of the turbellarian Paravortex cardii located in the digestive lumen of the cockle Cerastoderma edule. The study of spore morphology by transmission electron microscopy revealed that they correspond to an haplosporidian belonging to...

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) has been associated with high mortalities of various bivalve species (Barber 2004), cockles Cerastoderma edule of Galicia (NW Spain) among them (Villalba et al. 2001). DN in C. edule was characterised by infiltration of the connective tissue of various organs by abnormal large cells, with high nucleus/cytoplasm ratio, on...