Expression and diversity of AMP and other immune-related molecules in M. galloprovincialis

Anthropogenic activities, accidental events and global climate trends currently threaten the marine biological resources as they impose functional adjustments to the biota, change the ecological niches and lead to significant ecosystem changes. In the water column or sediments, bivalves interact with a variety of microorganisms which include commensal, opportunistic species and potential pathogens. Ofter acting together with other detrimental factors, microscopic agents can divert energy from growth and reproduction to the defence reactions, and finally overwhelm the host defenses with onset of diseases and mortality outbreaks in the natural and farmed stocks. Mussels of the genus Mytilus commonly appear more resilient than other bivalves to the environmental variation, and more likely act as pathogen reservoir for the animal species sharing the same habitat. In the frame of the European Integrated project IMAQUANIM, standard and advanced sequencing is confirming abundance and molecular diversity of the antimicrobial peptide precursors expressed in farmed, wild and immunostimulated mussels. Transcripts denoting pathogen recognition receptors also showed significant molecular diversity, namely sequences containing C1q, C-type-lectin or fibrinogen-like domains. Overall, gene expression profiling and massive sequencing progressively unveil the complexity of the innate defences of the Mediterranean mussel