Using flow cytometry to detect haemic neoplasia in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) from the Pacific Coast of Southern British Columbia, Canada

Ekaterina Vassilenko; Susan A Baldwin

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2014.02.002

Using flow cytometry to detect haemic neoplasia in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) from the Pacific Coast of Southern British Columbia, Canada

J Invertebr Pathol. 2014 Mar:117:68-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2014.02.002. Epub 2014 Feb 24.

Authors

Ekaterina Vassilenko¹, Susan A Baldwin²

Affiliations

¹ Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: ekaterina.vassilenko@gmail.com.
² Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: sbaldwin@mail.ubc.ca.

PMID: 24576571
DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2014.02.002

Abstract

Flow cytometry was investigated as an alternative to visual haemocytology for potentially higher-throughput and less subjective detection of neoplasia in Mytilus trossulus. In contrast to previous studies of ploidy in the Mytilus spp. complex, distinct tetra- and pentaploidal neoplastic cells were rare and a wide range of aneuploidy peaks from 1.4n to 5.5n were detected for late-stage leukemic animals. There was no correlation between aneuploidy and the number of diseased cells for early and intermediate disease stages. Formation of aneuploidy and neoplasia progression might not be simultaneous, and DNA content analysis using flow cytometry was only useful for detecting late stages of the disease.

Keywords: Biomonitoring; Flow cytometry; Haemic neoplasia; Mussel leukemia; Mytilus trossulus; Ploidy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
British Columbia
Flow Cytometry / methods*
Hemocytes / pathology*
Mytilus*
Ploidies