A team of researchers from St. Petersburg State University, alongside scientists from the National Scientific Center for Marine Biology named after AV Zhirmunsky of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and experts from the Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, confirmed that the infectious cancer afflicting Pacific mussels can pose a real risk to humans and other animals. The study notes that contaminated ballast water and ship bottoms transported infected mussels, enabling the disease to reach European shores via the Northern Sea Route. This finding was communicated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation through socialbites.ca.
In mussels belonging to the genus Mytilus, two aggressive genetic lines of the contagious cancer have been identified: BTN1 and BTN2. Both trace their origins to the Pacific mussel Mytilus trossulus. This cancer is transmissible and spreads through live cancer cells to other shellfish. Importantly, researchers can distinguish these cancers from spontaneous cases by genotyping because BTN lines carry a genotype associated with a so-called “patient zero.”
Commercial shellfish stocks face the threat of deadly cancer outbreaks, with BTN identified as the primary driver. Epidemics now jeopardize mussel fisheries in Europe and along the Atlantic border, potentially resulting in significant economic impacts for bivalve aquaculture and coastal communities that depend on this industry.
To better understand the scope of BTN, scientists examined samples in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. All BTN samples identified there belong to North Pacific strains of the disease, a form not previously observed outside that region. This discovery underscores the capacity of BTN to spread beyond its traditional range and highlights the importance of ongoing surveillance.
Ongoing BTN research has been active since the disease was first described in 2015. The work holds both theoretical and practical importance, as the infectious cancer has the potential to affect a wide range of metazoan species, possibly including humans. Consequently, there is a need for foundational knowledge about the biology, transmission, and control of this infection to safeguard aquaculture and natural mussel populations.
In related scientific progress, prior researchers trained artificial intelligence systems to recognize and diagnose skin cancer. This parallel illustrates how AI methodologies can be leveraged to advance disease detection in marine biology as well, with the potential to improve early warning and response strategies for BTN outbreaks.