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Putnam JG, Steiner JN, Richard JC, Leis E, Goldberg TL, Dunn CD, Agbalog R, Knowles S, Waller DL. Mussel mass mortality in the Clinch River, USA: metabolomics detects affected pathways and biomarkers of stress. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 11:coad074. [PMID: 37680611 PMCID: PMC10482074 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coad074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Biologists monitoring freshwater mussel (order Unionida) populations rely on behavioral, often subjective, signs to identify moribund ("sick") or stressed mussels, such as gaping valves and slow response to probing, and they lack clinical indicators to support a diagnosis. As part of a multi-year study to investigate causes of reoccurring mortality of pheasantshell (Ortmanniana pectorosa; synonym Actinonaias pectorosa) in the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, USA, we analyzed the hemolymph metabolome of a subset of mussels from the 2018 sampling period. Mussels at the mortality sites were diagnosed in the field as affected (case) or unaffected (control) based on behavioral and physical signs. Hemolymph was collected in the field by non-lethal methods from the anterior adductor muscle for analysis. We used ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectroscopy to detect targeted and untargeted metabolites in hemolymph and compared metabolomic profiles by field assessment of clinical status. Targeted biomarker analysis found 13 metabolites associated with field assessments of clinical status. Of these, increased gamma-linolenic acid and N-methyl-l-alanine were most indicative of case mussels, while adenine and inosine were the best indicators of control mussels. Five pathways in the targeted analysis differed by clinical status; two of these, purine metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism, were also indicated in the untargeted analysis. In the untargeted nalysis, 22 metabolic pathways were associated with clinical status. Many of the impacted pathways in the case group were catabolic processes, such as degradation of amino acids and fatty acids. Hierarchical clustering analysis matched clinical status in 72% (18 of 25) of mussels, with control mussels more frequently (5 of 16) not matching clinical status. Our study demonstrated that metabolomic analysis of hemolymph is suitable for assessing mussel condition and complements field-based indicators of health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel G Putnam
- Conagen, Inc., 15 Deangelo Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, USA
| | - John N Steiner
- US Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse WI 54603, USA
| | - Jordan C Richard
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Virginia Field Office, 330 Cummings Street, Abingdon, VA 24210, USA
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706, USA
| | - Eric Leis
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Fisheries Center, La Crosse Fish Health Center, 555 Lester Ave., Onalaska, WI 54650, USA
| | - Tony L Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706, USA
- Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Christopher D Dunn
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706, USA
| | - Rose Agbalog
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Virginia Field Office, 330 Cummings Street, Abingdon, VA 24210, USA
| | - Susan Knowles
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Rd., Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | - Diane L Waller
- US Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse WI 54603, USA
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