The present Letter to the Editor comments on an interesting article recently published in "Science", which deals with an unprecedented, tsunami-driven, transoceanic spread of marine organisms, following the dramatic 2011 earthquake in East Japan. Among the large number of (mainly) invertebrate species affected by the aforementioned phenomenon, special emphasis should be also placed upon microbial pathogens, some of which are known to impact the health and conservation of free-ranging cetaceans. A paradigmatic example in this direction is represented by Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan and zoonotic agent of major concern, which may also infect striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), with subsequent development of severe brain lesions leading to stranding and death. Although a “general consensus” seems to exist on a “land-to-sea flow” as the most plausible mechanism through which T. gondii oocysts, similarly to other oro-fecally transmitted microorganisms, may gain access to the marine environment, this becomes questionable when dealing with striped dolphins and other T. gondii-susceptible species of aquatic mammals living in the open sea. In other words, how striped dolphins and other pelagic cetaceans may acquire T. gondii infection is still far from being understood. Consequently, among the different hypotheses drawn to explain this phenomenon, the existence of an “alternate” (mainly, if not exclusively) intra-marine biological protozoan’s cycle has been also hypothesized. Since “alternate” cycles of a similar nature have not been demonstrated to occur, thus far, both for T. gondii and for many other protozoan and non-protozoan agents, it would be worthwhile to investigate whether tsunamis, seaquakes, and (more in general) seawater movements may account for the dispersal into marine and oceanic ecosystems, also for very long distances, of T. gondii and other oro-fecally transmitted pathogens, along with their (vertebrate and invertebrate) hosts.

Tsunami and microbial pathogens

DI GUARDO, Giovanni;
2017-01-01

Abstract

The present Letter to the Editor comments on an interesting article recently published in "Science", which deals with an unprecedented, tsunami-driven, transoceanic spread of marine organisms, following the dramatic 2011 earthquake in East Japan. Among the large number of (mainly) invertebrate species affected by the aforementioned phenomenon, special emphasis should be also placed upon microbial pathogens, some of which are known to impact the health and conservation of free-ranging cetaceans. A paradigmatic example in this direction is represented by Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan and zoonotic agent of major concern, which may also infect striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), with subsequent development of severe brain lesions leading to stranding and death. Although a “general consensus” seems to exist on a “land-to-sea flow” as the most plausible mechanism through which T. gondii oocysts, similarly to other oro-fecally transmitted microorganisms, may gain access to the marine environment, this becomes questionable when dealing with striped dolphins and other T. gondii-susceptible species of aquatic mammals living in the open sea. In other words, how striped dolphins and other pelagic cetaceans may acquire T. gondii infection is still far from being understood. Consequently, among the different hypotheses drawn to explain this phenomenon, the existence of an “alternate” (mainly, if not exclusively) intra-marine biological protozoan’s cycle has been also hypothesized. Since “alternate” cycles of a similar nature have not been demonstrated to occur, thus far, both for T. gondii and for many other protozoan and non-protozoan agents, it would be worthwhile to investigate whether tsunamis, seaquakes, and (more in general) seawater movements may account for the dispersal into marine and oceanic ecosystems, also for very long distances, of T. gondii and other oro-fecally transmitted pathogens, along with their (vertebrate and invertebrate) hosts.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11575/98388
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