Liquid biopsies for monitoring the health status of blue mussels

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Because of their ability to accumulate xenobiotics in their tissues, wide distribution, and ecological and economical importance, blue mussels have long been recognized as good biological indicators for monitoring the effects of pollution and climate change in marine ecosystems. A relatively large number of biomarkers have thus been developed to determine the health status of blue mussels. These biomarkers allow early detection of biological changes due to exposure to stressors, which may result in long-term physiological disturbances. Among the most common biomarkers, there are histological biomarkers, which reflect morphological alterations, and functional biomarkers, which reflect alteration in basic cellular mechanisms. In most cases, however, these approaches require on-site trained tissue dissection and/or uninterrupted cold chain sampling to maintain quality of samples. For sampling in remote areas, such as polar regions, this implies complex logistical challenges and considerable risk and cost associated with shipment and storage. These difficulties represent a major obstacle for long-term monitoring of impacts of climate change in marine ecosystems. The advent of high-throughput processes underpinning omics technologies provides a new opportunity to overcome these obstacles and to develop “next-generation biomarkers” that are compatible with modern sampling technologies. In medicine, these biomarkers have led to a significant shift in the clinical management of cancer and other diseases. Here, we propose to take advantage of the tremendous progress that has been achieved in this field with a particular attention to the concept of liquid biopsy. Using a small sample of blood, clinicians can easily and quickly obtain vital information that are used to assess ongoing tissue damage or to measure with high precision the efficacy of a given treatment. We propose to apply this concept and combine it with the Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) cards for the development of novel omics-based biomarkers. We will use this approach to study the bacterial microbiome of mussels in different habitat types across temporally and spatially varying conditions. We will also characterize and study circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) fragments in plasma of mussels, with a particular attention to the circulating virome and methylome. Finally, we will conduct laboratory experiments to study the effects of stress factors on ccfDNA and the bacterial microbiome of mussels. On a short-term basis, these studies will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between mussels and their environment. It will also allow advance our knowledge on the pathophysiologic mechanisms implicated in the development of stress-related responses of mussels following exposure to anthropogenic activities. On a long-term basis, the program will help to develop next-generation multi-omics-based biomarkers for longitudinal monitoring of marine ecosystem health.*****************