title: Zebra mussel as a new tool to show evidence of freshwater contamination by waterborne Toxoplasma gondii.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate if freshwater bivalves can be used to detect the presence of Toxoplasma gondii in water bodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were caged for 1 month upstream and downstream of the discharge points of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Physiological status was assessed to assure good health of bivalves during transplantation. The presence of T. gondii was investigated in mussel tissues by qPCR. In autumn, T. gondii was detected in mussels caged downstream of the discharge points of two WWTPs. In spring, it was detected upstream of one WWTP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the first time, T. gondii DNA has been shown in a continental mollusc in environmental conditions. This highlights the interest of an active approach that could be applied independently of the presence or accessibility of autochthonous populations, and underlines the presence of T. gondii in natural waters under pressure of WWTP discharge at a certain time of the year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that transplanted zebra mussels could be used as biosamplers to reveal contamination of freshwater systems by T. gondii.
authors.affiliation: Unité Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des milieux aquatiques, UMR-I 02 (SEBIO), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kerambrun
authors.affiliation: Unité Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des milieux aquatiques, UMR-I 02 (SEBIO), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France.|Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, EA 3800 SFR CAP-Santé FED 4231, Hôpital Maison Blanche, Reims, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palos Ladeiro
authors.affiliation: Unité Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des milieux aquatiques, UMR-I 02 (SEBIO), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bigot-Clivot
authors.affiliation: Unité Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des milieux aquatiques, UMR-I 02 (SEBIO), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dedourge-Geffard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, EA 3800 SFR CAP-Santé FED 4231, Hôpital Maison Blanche, Reims, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, EA 3800 SFR CAP-Santé FED 4231, Hôpital Maison Blanche, Reims, France.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Villena
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, EA 3800 SFR CAP-Santé FED 4231, Hôpital Maison Blanche, Reims, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aubert
authors.affiliation: Unité Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des milieux aquatiques, UMR-I 02 (SEBIO), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geffard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049875:Dreissena / Q000469:parasitology*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis
keywords: Dreissena polymorpha; Toxoplasma gondii; qPCR; rivers; wastewater