Chapter 17 - Metabolomics investigation into summer mortality events of Greenshell mussels (Perna canaliculus) in New Zealand

Abstract

Summer mortality events have been recorded recently for New Zealand Greenshell mussel (Perna canaliculus) farms. There is little scientific information about these events and how they may affect this industry. In this case study, we used a GC-MS platform to obtain metabolite profiles of mussel hemolymph sampled during a summer mortality in 2018. Compared to healthy mussels, infected mussels had 44 different metabolites (mostly elevated) in hemolymph samples. The alterations of these metabolites provide important signatures of changes in the immunological functions of the host. Among these, the increase of itaconic acid may indicate the antimicrobial activity of mussels again the infection. Thus, we suggest that this metabolite could be a biomarker of the host’s response to a bacterial infection in mussels and other bivalves. This study represents the first metabolomics investigation of summer mortality in P. canaliculus and provides the foundation for future studies on the molecular pathways underlying disease process and development of disease, diagnosis, and management strategies.