Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.

Bivalve molluscs are key components of the estuarine environments as contributors to the trophic chain, and as filter -feeders, for maintaining ecosystem integrity. Further, clams, oysters, and scallops are commercially exploited around the world both as traditional local shellfisheries, and as inte...

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Main Authors: José A Fernández Robledo, Gerardo R Vasta, Nicholas R Record
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4067406?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-959f9000742f4a8f959353e3fdc546512020-11-24T22:07:55ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0196e10087210.1371/journal.pone.0100872Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.José A Fernández RobledoGerardo R VastaNicholas R RecordBivalve molluscs are key components of the estuarine environments as contributors to the trophic chain, and as filter -feeders, for maintaining ecosystem integrity. Further, clams, oysters, and scallops are commercially exploited around the world both as traditional local shellfisheries, and as intensive or semi-intensive farming systems. During the past decades, populations of those species deemed of environmental or commercial interest have been subject to close monitoring given the realization that these can suffer significant decline, sometimes irreversible, due to overharvesting, environmental pollution, or disease. Protozoans of the genera Perkinsus, Haplosporidium, Marteilia, and Bonamia are currently recognized as major threats for natural and farmed bivalve populations. Since their identification, however, the variable publication rates of research studies addressing these parasitic diseases do not always appear to reflect their highly significant environmental and economic impact. Here we analyzed the peer- reviewed literature since the initial description of these parasites with the goal of identifying potential milestone discoveries or achievements that may have driven the intensity of the research in subsequent years, and significantly increased publication rates. Our analysis revealed that after initial description of the parasite as the etiological agent of a given disease, there is a time lag before a maximal number of yearly publications are reached. This has already taken place for most of them and has been followed by a decrease in publication rates over the last decade (20- to 30- year lifetime in the literature). Autocorrelation analyses, however, suggested that advances in parasite purification and culture methodologies positively drive publication rates, most likely because they usually lead to novel molecular tools and resources, promoting mechanistic studies. Understanding these trends should help researchers in prioritizing research efforts for these and other protozoan parasites, together with their development as model systems for further basic and translational research in parasitic diseases.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4067406?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author José A Fernández Robledo
Gerardo R Vasta
Nicholas R Record
spellingShingle José A Fernández Robledo
Gerardo R Vasta
Nicholas R Record
Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
PLoS ONE
author_facet José A Fernández Robledo
Gerardo R Vasta
Nicholas R Record
author_sort José A Fernández Robledo
title Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
title_short Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
title_full Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
title_fullStr Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
title_full_unstemmed Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
title_sort protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2014-01-01
description Bivalve molluscs are key components of the estuarine environments as contributors to the trophic chain, and as filter -feeders, for maintaining ecosystem integrity. Further, clams, oysters, and scallops are commercially exploited around the world both as traditional local shellfisheries, and as intensive or semi-intensive farming systems. During the past decades, populations of those species deemed of environmental or commercial interest have been subject to close monitoring given the realization that these can suffer significant decline, sometimes irreversible, due to overharvesting, environmental pollution, or disease. Protozoans of the genera Perkinsus, Haplosporidium, Marteilia, and Bonamia are currently recognized as major threats for natural and farmed bivalve populations. Since their identification, however, the variable publication rates of research studies addressing these parasitic diseases do not always appear to reflect their highly significant environmental and economic impact. Here we analyzed the peer- reviewed literature since the initial description of these parasites with the goal of identifying potential milestone discoveries or achievements that may have driven the intensity of the research in subsequent years, and significantly increased publication rates. Our analysis revealed that after initial description of the parasite as the etiological agent of a given disease, there is a time lag before a maximal number of yearly publications are reached. This has already taken place for most of them and has been followed by a decrease in publication rates over the last decade (20- to 30- year lifetime in the literature). Autocorrelation analyses, however, suggested that advances in parasite purification and culture methodologies positively drive publication rates, most likely because they usually lead to novel molecular tools and resources, promoting mechanistic studies. Understanding these trends should help researchers in prioritizing research efforts for these and other protozoan parasites, together with their development as model systems for further basic and translational research in parasitic diseases.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4067406?pdf=render
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