Snail Pila Globosa Research Articles

Biometric evaluation of the freshwater snail Pila globosa (Swainson, 1822) from the river Ganga in Bihar, India

Length-frequency distribution, morphometry, length-weight relationship, relative condition factor and sex ratio of the apple snail Pila globosa (Swainson, 1822) were studied from the river Ganga. A total of 922 specimens were collected during July 2020 to June 2021, ranging from 3.53 to 62.99 g and from 16.49 to 59.78 mm (shell length). Length-frequency distribution revealed that more than 50% of male and female specimens were within 35 to 45 mm in length and only few (1.58%) female specimens were observed in the higher length (>55 mm). Females have significantly longer shells and are heavier than males. Shell length has the strongest correlation with shell width (r=0.974) and the least with penultimate whorl length (r=0.855). Length-weight relationship, indicated that the species has negative allometric growth (b<3). The relative condition factor was 1.07 for males, 1.00 for females and 1.01 for pooled data. Sex ratio (M:F) statistically deviated from the hypothetical ratio of 1:1, indicating a heterogeneous snail population (1:1.9, p<0.05). Keywords: Ganga River, Growth pattern, Shell morphology, Snail Sex ratio

Gastropod Grazing Traces (Incipient Radulichnus isp.) in the Godavari River, India and their Preservation Potential in the Fossil Record

Grazing traces attributed to gastropods and classified as incipient Radulichnus occur on eroded surfaces of Permian sandstones outcropping along the Godavari River in India, far beyond marine influences. Presumably, they were produced during monsoon flooding approximately four months before observations, probably by the apple snail Pila globosa (Swainson, 1822) of the family Ampullariidae feeding on biofilms. Even after such an extended period of time, their morphology is still well preserved. This demonstrates their preservation potential, especially when buried by sediment, and also suggests that such traces can be found as fossils in ancient fluvial environments.

GC- MS SCREENING AND IN-SILICO PREDICTION OF PILA GLOBOSA EXTRACT AGAINST THE BONE DISEASES IN CALCITONIN RECEPTOR

India’s flora and fauna has diverse medicinal properties and constitutes the major portion of our traditional medicine system. One among them is snails. Snails have a long history of being used for treating diseases in traditional medicinal systems around the world including India and China. Pila globosa is one of the largest land snails, mainly used as food. Here in this study, the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry discovered the presence of thirteen bio active constituents with various medicinal applications. The constituent Stigmasta-4, 22-dien-3-beta-ol had the highest retention time and exhibited a efficient binding with the human protein calcitonin receptor ectodomain. The calcitonin receptor types is expressed widely in various tissues and cells but most importantly in the osteoclates and hence a very important receptor in the treatment for bone disorders. The binding of the Pila globosa snail constituent with the human calcitonin receptor proved that a novel drug can be developed from the snail for the treatment of bone disorders such as osteoporosis, hypercalcemia of malignancy and paget’s disease. In addition to that, the snail extract exhibited no cytotoxicity and an efficient antioxidant property against DPPH and H2O2 free radicals. The FTIR analysis revealed the snail contained biologically significant functional groups with properties suitable for a drug and prevalent in most of the pharmaceutical drugs. Thus, these results imply the safety and efficacy of the snail Pila globosa for a novel drug development.

Seasonal Variation of Water Quality Modulated Redox Regulatory System in the Apple Snail Pila globosa and Its Use as a Bioindicator Species in Freshwater Ecosystems across India

Studies on oxidative stress physiology on molluscs to monitor the aquatic environment, influenced by pollutants and stressors are very limited in general and in Indian apple snails, P. globosa in particular. The main focus of the present study was to establish the baseline data on a redox regulatory system in P. globosa sampled across the Indian subcontinent. Snails were sampled from different zones of India in three seasons (rainy, summer and winter) and the redox regulatory system (levels of antioxidant enzyme activities and small redox regulatory molecules) and oxidative stress indicator (lipid peroxidation) were analyzed. The observed elevated lipid peroxidation level in the summer season accompanied with elevated pH, salinity and temperature indicates induction of stress. In the summer season, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) enzymes were augmented, whereas the level of the free -SH group and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were found to be increased. Similarly, correlation analysis between the antioxidant system and aquatic parameters revealed that SOD, CAT and GR were influenced by pH as well as salinity, whereas CAT was strongly correlated with temperature. Collectively, our data indicate the use of P. globosa as a model organism to monitor and access the freshwater environment by determining the redox regulatory status of this animal.

Spatio-temporal changes in oxidative stress physiology parameters in apple snail Pila globosa as a function of soil Mg, Ca, organic carbon and aquatic physico-chemical factors.

Information on the oxidative stress physiology parameters (OSPP) in general and as a function of the fluctuation of Mg, Ca and organic carbon present in soil and aquatic physico-chemical factors such as pH, temperature and salinity in particular are scanty in the amphibious snail Pila globosa. A spatio-temporal analysis of redox metabolism (as OSPP) followed by discriminant function analysis of the obtained data were performed in P. globosa sampled from the east-coasts of Odisha state, India (mostly along the Bay of Bengal) for environmental health assessment purposes. Results revealed that the OSPP are susceptible to seasonal synergistic variation of soil and physico-chemical factors. Overall, lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity, activities of catalase, glutathione reductase had positive correlation whereas ascorbic acid, the reduced glutathione and the activity of superoxide dismutase had non-significant correlation with the soil Mg, Ca, organic carbon, and pH, temperature and salinity of water. In the summer season, the snails had a marked 51.83% and 26.41% higher lipid peroxidation level and total antioxidative activity as compared to the other seasons. Spatial variation of OSPP indicates that snails residing away from the Bay of Bengal coast had at least 4.4% lower antioxidant level in winter and 30% higher lipid peroxide levels in summer as compared to the rest of the sampling sites. Results on OSPP in P. globosa may be useful for monitoring the ecotoxic effects of environment using molluscs in general and P. globosa in particular.

Ecology and Bio-economics of Freshwater Apple Snail Pila globosa in Natore district of Bangladesh

Pila globosa is an economically and commercially valued snail used as food in aquaculture, medicine, and food item in many regions of Bangladesh and other countries. The current study examines the ecology of Pila globosa and determines their current bio-economic situation. Pila globosa were collected from Singra, Lalpur and, Bagatipara upazila of Natore district. It was found 1.5-fold decline of the snail population in the study areas. Pila globosa is an ecological element that actively contributes to preserving a healthy aquatic habitat, which is necessary for biodiversity preservation. On the one hand, snail fauna scientific management is out of date. On the other hand, Pila globosa is still being exploited for fish culture, providing the underprivileged with a means of subsistence and the country with foreign income. By easing pressure on the natural population, the scenario justifies the development of supplemental Pila globosa culture techniques for commercial use.

"In-vitro Effects of Chlorpyrifos and Monocrotophos on the Activity of Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in Different Tissues of Apple Snail Pila globosa (Swainson, 1822)"

The impact of two organophosphorus insecticides [Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and Monocrotophos (MCP)] on non-target wild natural gastropod, Pila globosa (apple snail) from the paddy fields was studied. The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was monitored on foot-muscle and hepatopancreas tissues of control and exposed snails. In the foot- muscle AChE inhibition progressed and reached 54.19% and 63.13% of the control, whereas, the AChE inhibition in the hepatopancreas reached 46.96% and 53.67% over control after 48 hours of exposure to 1.5 mL.L-1 and 2.5 mL.L-1 CPF respectively. After 48 hours of MCP exposure at 1.5 mL.L-1 and 2.5 mL.L-1 separately, the AChE inhibition of foot muscle was 49.07% and 57.59% respectively while in hepatopancreas it was 44.65% and 48.84% respectively. Our results show more inhibition of AChE activities on the foot-muscle than hepatopancreas in a concentration and time-dependent manner with greater severity by CPF in comparison to MCP. AChE inhibition increased with the increasing exposure time.

Temporal morphometric analyses of Pila globosa in India for its use in aquaculture and food industry

BackgroundAlthough the apple snail Pila globosa is used as indicator species for human consumption locally and as fish feed, research on it in general is very scanty. It is used in food industry, in aquaculture as fish bait and used as food in many regions of India and many other countries, but research on it has been started in the 1970s. Only 40 articles are available on this organism in PubMed indicating an urgent need of basic research on it especially work on its spatiotemporal morphometry Therefore, sampling of P. globosa was done from different parts of India in different seasons (summer, winter and rainy), and different morphometric studies were performed on this organism to draw baseline information. Analysis was conducted to study morphometry, the relationship between shell length and the weight and relative condition factor of Indian apple snail Pila globosa collected from five zones (east, west, north, south and centre) of India during 2018–2019 year.ResultsThe shell length (SL) (46.5 ± 13.33), shell width (SW) (40.22±11.5 mm), spire length (SPL) (2.99±0.15 mm), base length (BL) (12.53±2.94 mm), aperture length (AL) (21.95±4.36 mm), aperture width (AW) (2.74±0.47 mm) and shell weight (WT) (31.08±13.76 g) were observed to be varied among the individual sampled across India. Different relationships for SL/SW (Log SW=0.9889 Log SL + 0.9444), SL/SPL (Log SPL = 0.1452 Log SL+0.3815), SL/BL (Log BL=0.7789 Log SL+0.5814), SL/AL (Log AL= 0.6518 Log SL+0.9111) and SL/AW (Log AW=0.4475 Log SL+0.1422) were observed by considering shell length as basic index. The relationship between shell length and shell weight was found to be Log WT=2.0263 Log SL+0.1098. The relative condition factor revealed uninterrupted and good environmental condition observed for apple snails. A negative allometric growth pattern was observed from the length–weight relationship.ConclusionThe environments of apple snail in India are not contaminated, and the results can be used as baseline data in aquaculture for model analysis and can be used as a reference for drawing relationship among different morphometric indices of P. globosa in India, as there is no such information available on it. The data can also be used for mass scale production of P. globosa for consumption by human and use in aquatic industries as fish feed.

Natural breeding of freshwater apple snail Pila globosa (Swainson) in pond and aquarium

The freshwater apple snail, Pila globosa is one of the most abundant and commercially valued molluscs. Over exploitation of P. globosa for prawn farming is an alarming condition. The present study is aimed at elucidating the breeding behavior and reproduction process of P. globosa. The natural breeding experiment was conducted in two ponds- a 52 decimal pond in Gopalgonj sadar and a 40 decimal pond in Kotalipara. The ponds were prepared by applying lime at the rate of 3 kg/decimal and then filled up with water up to 30cm. Wild snails were stocked at the rate of 600 no./decimal. Organic compost (cow-dung, mustard oilcake and urea at the ratio of 1:1:0.5at the rate of 2.5 kg/decimal respectively) spread throughout the pond. Several male and female specimens were collected from experimental gher and brought to the laboratory aquarium to observe their breeding behavior. At the bottom of aquarium substrate like plastic bottle, marbel, artificial tree etc. were provided for egg laying. Breeding involves three processes: copulation, fertilization and laying. Copulation occurs in water on moist land and it takes about 3-4 hrs, then both separated. Fertilization is internal in P. globosa. Egg laying started 2 or 3 days after copulation. They lay eggs in sheltered places or moist land near water in the dyke. A single female lays eggs average 387.89±167.65 no. per clot at a time. The time elapsed between the first and the last hatchings ranged from 6 to 25 days and for 80% of the 5 egg masses were studied. Considering all the eggs in the egg masses (n=1856) more than 60% of the eggs hatched within 13 days of the first hatching. It needs about 25 days for full clot to be hatched. In the laboratory condition hatching success was observed about 80%.

Artyfechinostomum sufrartyfex Trematode Infections in Children, Bihar, India.

Eating raw or insufficiently cooked mollusks is a known risk factor for human echinostomiasis. We confirmed identification of Artyfechinostomum sufrartyfex trematodes as the causative agent of disease among 170 children in northern Bihar, India. We also identified the snail Pila globosa as a potential source of infections in the study area.

Biomarker for environmental stress induced aestivation

Factors leading to aestivation (summer sleep) invariably display features of stress and hence it is of interest to understand and elucidate the role of heat shock proteins (HSP`s) during cellular stress response in an aestivating amphibious Indian apple snail Pila globosa . Expression of Inducible HSP40 was documented in the hepatopancreatic tissue after 60 days of aestivation. The identification of Inducible HSP40 in snails exposed to long term aestivational stress could be used as a potential biomarker/bio-indicator.

Biomarker for environmental stress induced aestivation

Factors leading to aestivation (summer sleep) invariably display features of stress and hence it is of interest to understand and elucidate the role of heat shock proteins (HSP`s) during cellular stress response in an aestivating amphibious Indian apple snail Pila globosa . Expression of Inducible HSP40 was documented in the hepatopancreatic tissue after 60 days of aestivation. The identification of Inducible HSP40 in snails exposed to long term aestivational stress could be used as a potential biomarker/bio-indicator.

EPR theoretical study of local lattice structure on Mn 2+ ion doped in calcite and differences between single crystal and fresh water snail, Pila globosa

By diagonalizing the complete energy matrices for a d 5 configuration ion in a trigonal ligand-field and considering the second-order, fourth-order EPR parameters D and ( a − F) simultaneously, the substitution position of Mn 2+ ion in the CaCO 3:Mn 2+ system has been studied by analyzing the optical absorption and EPR spectra of single crystal and the ostracum layer of operculum of fresh water snail Pila globosa. The results show that in the single crystal there is an obvious compressed distortion Δ R = −0.158 Å and Δ θ = 0.70°, and the distortion in P. globosa is Δ R = −0.107 Å and Δ θ = −0.34° ∼ −0.23°. Meanwhile the EPR parameters 10 4( a − F) = 7.02–7.29 cm −1 and 10 4 a = 6.35 cm −1 are predicted in P. globosa.

The microstructures of biomineralized surfaces: a spectroscopic study on the exoskeletons of fresh water (Apple) snail, Pila globosa

In view of the importance in understanding biomineralization processes in different molluskan species, the common fresh water apple snail Pila globosa in Indian origin was taken to explore its mineralized exoskeleton structures. The detailed structural studies of the exoskeletons of P. globosa have been undertaken. The isolated layers present in these shells were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), optical absorption, and infrared spectral techniques. The EPR spectra of the organic protein layer periostracum show the characteristic signals corresponding to Fe 3+ ions at g=4.1 and 2.0. The EPR spectra of the ostracum (middle) layer at room temperature gives a complicated spectrum consisting of a number of Mn 2+ signals of at least three sets due to the aragonite nature of the material. The results indicate the presence of the multivalent manganese ions, which undergo the redox mechanisms. The thermal variation of the EPR spectra show marked effect on these samples both in g-values and the basic spectral pattern.

Butachlor impact on protein, free amino acid and glutamine contents, and on activity levels of aminotransferases, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase in the fresh water snail, Pila globosa (Swainson)

Biochemical changes followed in the freshwater snail Pila globosa (Swainson) during exposure to sublethal concentrations of the herbicide butachlor (26.6 ppm) in the ambient medium, at 3,6,12,24 and 48 h intervals, were marked by a significant decrease in total and soluble proteins, and an increase in free amino acids in foot and hepatopancreas up to 12 h before gradually recovering. Aminotransferase activities and glutamine content decreased during the early periods of exposure, while glutamate dehydrogenase activity increased. After an initial elevation, glutamate synthetase activity decreased at later intervals. Maximum effect of butachlor on the enzymes was seen after 12 h exposure. The extent of increase or decrease in different parameters examined varied between the two tissues studied. These changes are discussed in relation to the toxic stress of butachlor.

Changes in carbohydrate metabolism of Pila globosa in response to crustacean hyperglycemic hormone.

Hyperglycemia was caused in the snail Pila globosa by the injection of the hyperglycemic hormones obtained from fresh water crabs (Oziotelphusa senex senex) and marine tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon). Tissue glycogen and total carbohydrates presented a significant decrease which indicated that the source of hyperglycemia was the tissue carbohydrates. The hyperglycemic principles also increased the tissue phosphorylase activity and provided evidence for a possible action of the crustacean hyperglycemic hormones in non-arthropod species.

Effect of starvation on food utilization in the freshwater snailPila globosa (Swainson)

Increase in food supply produced elevated values of several parameters in energy budget of both normal and starved individuals (P<0·001). Starvation accelerated the rates of feeding, absorption and metabolism (3 times) and conversion (1 1/2 times;P<0·001).Pila globosa starved for a month lost 79·5 mg dry weight/g live weight and the recovery periods to attain the original body weight were estimated as 66, 72, 88, 32, 28 and 23 days between 8 and 20% rations.

Ammonia Excretion in Snails Viviparus bengalensis (LAMARCK) and Pila globosa (SWAINSON) during Active and Dormant Periods

AbstractThe quantities of ammonia excreted over a period of 24 h by two prosobranch snails Viviparus bengalensis and Pila globosa were measured at 30 day intervals to compare their excretion during the active and dormant phases of their life. The aquatic snail V. bengalensis excreted 0.5‐1.0 μmole of ammonia per day and snail throughout the year. The ammonia excretion rate of this snail was 40‐50% lower in winter than in the monsoon and summer period. In the amphibious snail Pila globosa excretion of ammonia was limited to only four months of its active life i. e. during July‐October. Also the rate of ammonia excretion in P. globosa (0.2‐0.3 μmole per day and snail) was very low compared with V. bengalensis.

Effects of feeding level and body size on food utilization of the freshwater snail Pila globosa

Food supply caused an increase in the overall energy budget of all size groups of Pila globosa. Feeding rate increased from 3.4 to 28.7, 2.0 to 19.1 and 0.2 to 7.2 mg/g/day in young, intermediate and old snails respectively. The corresponding increase in body weight (growth rate) ranged from 1.3 to 2.7, 0.5 to 1.5 and 0.4 to 0.5 mg/g/day. When compared with the other two groups, maximum values were recorded for young P. globosa, i.e. an increase in size (ageing) caused a decrease in the energy budget. Data obtained for the maintenance, optimum and maximum feeding rates for the young P. globosa were 12.0, 22.0 and 28.8 mg/g/day. The corresponding values for the intermediate and old snails were 7.4, 14.0 and 19.0 mg/g/day and 4.1, 5.6 and 7.2 mg/g/day. With the increase in body weight, a progressive reduction in the slope of the regression lines was noticed in the body weight-conversion rate relationship.

The Use of Stomach Cytase from the Water Snail Pila Globosa in Root Tip Squashes of Ferns

The Use of Stomach Cytase from the Water Snail Pila Globosa in Root Tip Squashes of Ferns