Santiago de Compostela / Vigo, 22 August 2023. The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), through the Immunology and Genomics group at the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), has led a study on the mussel response to wounds and infections. The work shows that the mollusc releases immune cells outside its body, into the space between its shells. The results are published in Fish and Shellfish Immunology.
The study demonstrates that these free haemocytes may constitute a first line of defence and extend the immune alert system beyond the mussel’s body. Until now, the main studies on the mussel immune system had focused on its circulatory fluid.
The research team observed that, in response to tissue injury and infection, mussels can release immunologically functional cells into the intervalvar space, the cavity delimited by the shells and the mantle. This mechanism may help the animal detect and respond to threats before they reach internal tissues.
Mussels are organisms of great ecological and economic importance, especially in Galicia. Understanding their immune response is essential to improve knowledge of their biology and to address challenges related to aquaculture, environmental stress and disease.
The work opens new perspectives on the defence mechanisms of bivalves and suggests that the immune system of mussels extends beyond the classical internal compartments studied so far.