The effect of different hydrodistillation pretreatments, namely, reflux extraction, reflux extraction with the addition of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and ultrasound, on the yield and chemical composition of essential oils of sage, bay laurel, and rosemary was examined. All pretreatments improved essential oil yield compared to no-pretreatment control (40–64% yield increase), while the oil quality remained mostly unchanged (as shown by statistical analysis of GC-MS results). However, enzyme-assisted reflux extraction pretreatment did not significantly outperform reflux extraction (no-enzyme control), suggesting that the observed yield increase was mostly a consequence of reflux extraction and enzymatic activity had only a minute effect. Thus, we show that ultrasound and reflux extraction pretreatments are beneficial in the production of essential oils of selected Mediterranean plants, but the application of enzymes has to be carefully re-evaluated.

Saprolegnia parasitica, the causative agent of saprolegniosis in fish, and Aphanomyces astaci, the causative agent of crayfish plague, are oomycete pathogens that cause economic losses in aquaculture. Since toxic chemicals are currently used to control them, we aimed to investigate their inhibition by essential oils of sage, rosemary, and bay laurel as environmentally acceptable alternatives. Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis showed that the essential oils tested were rich in bioactive volatiles, mainly monoterpenes. Mycelium and zoospores of A. astaci were more sensitive compared to those of S. parasitica, where only sage essential oil completely inhibited mycelial growth. EC₅₀ values (i.e., concentrations of samples at which the growth was inhibited by 50%) for mycelial growth determined by the radial growth inhibition assay were 0.031–0.098 µL/mL for A. astaci and 0.040 µL/mL for S. parasitica. EC₅₀ values determined by the zoospore germination inhibition assay were 0.007–0.049 µL/mL for A. astaci and 0.012–0.063 µL/mL for S. parasitica. The observed inhibition, most pronounced for sage essential oil, could be partly due to dominant constituents of the essential oils, such as camphor, but more likely resulted from a synergistic effect of multiple compounds. Our results may serve as a basis for in vivo experiments and the development of environmentally friendly methods to control oomycete pathogens in aquaculture.

Oomycete pathogens in freshwaters, such as Saprolegnia parasitica and Aphanomyces astaci, are responsible for fish/crayfish population declines in the wild and disease outbreaks in aquaculture. Although the formation of infectious zoospores in the laboratory can be triggered by washing their mycelium with natural water samples, the physico-chemical properties of the water that might promote sporulation are still unexplored. We washed the mycelia of A. astaci and S. parasitica with a range of natural water samples and observed differences in sporulation efficiency. The results of Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS-R) multivariate analysis showed that SAC (spectral absorption coefficient measured at 254 nm), DOC (dissolved organic carbon), ammonium-N and fluoride had the strongest positive effect on sporulation of S. parasitica, while sporulation of A. astaci was not significantly correlated with any of the analyzed parameters. In agreement with this, the addition of environmentally relevant concentrations of humic acid, an important contributor to SAC and DOC, to the water induced sporulation of S. parasitica but not of A. astaci. Overall, our results point to the differences in ecological requirements of these pathogens, but also present a starting point for optimizing laboratory protocols for the induction of sporulation.

Oomycetes are fungal-like microorganisms parasitic towards a large number of plant and animal species. Genera from order Saprolegniales, such as Saprolegnia and Aphanomyces, cause devastating infections of freshwater animals. Saprolegnia parasitica is a widely distributed oomycete pathogen that causes saprolegniosis, a disease responsible for significant economic losses in aquaculture, as well as declines of natural populations of fish and other freshwater organisms. Despite its negative impact, no monitoring protocol for S. parasitica has been established to date. Thus, we aimed to develop a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay for the detection and quantification of S. parasitica in environmental DNA samples. Saprolegnia parasitica-specific primers were designed to target internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS 2), based on the alignment of ITS sequences of S. parasitica and a range of Saprolegnia spp., as well as other oomycetes. The specificity of primers was tested using genomic DNA of S. parasitica (as positive control) and DNA of non–S. parasitica oomycete isolates, as well as trout/crayfish DNA (as negative control). The primers specifically amplified a segment of the ITS region of oomycete pathogen S. parasitica, while no amplification (i.e. no positive droplets) was obtained for closely related Saprolegnia spp. (e.g. Saprolegnia sp. 1 and S. ferax) and other more distantly related oomycetes. Next, the limit of detection (LOD) of the assay was established by using serial dilutions of the S. parasitica genomic DNA. The determined sensitivity of the assay was high: LOD was 15 fg of pathogen’s genomic DNA per µL of the reaction mixture. Assay performance was further assessed with environmental DNA samples isolated from water from the trout farms and natural environments, as well as (ii) biofilm from the host surface (swab samples). Water samples were collected from 21 different locations in Croatia, while swab samples were collected from S. parasitica host/carrier species: (i) skin and eggs of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum, 1792) and brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758), and (ii) cuticle of signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana, 1852) and narrow clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823). Samples were classified into agent levels A0 to A6, depending of the number of S. parasitica ITS copies per ng of total DNA. Saprolegnia parasitica was detected in 76 % of water samples (16/21) and the range of pathogen’s ITS copies in positive samples was between 0.02 and 14 copies/ng of total DNA (agent levels A1 to A3). Regarding the swab samples, S. parasitica load was significantly higher in diseased trout than in those with healthy appearance: 9375 vs 3.28 S. parasitica copies/ng of total swab DNA (average agent level A6 vs. A2, respectively). Despite the fact that none of the sampled crayfish had signs of infection, the pathogen was detected in all tested cuticle swabs. Swabs of P. leniusculus, a known S. parasitica host, had significantly higher S. parasitica load than swabs of P. leptodactylus, S. parasitica carrier: 390 vs 83 S. parasitica copies/ng (agent level A5 vs. A4, respectively). In conclusion, our results demonstrate the applicability of the newly developed ddPCR assay in monitoring and early detection of S. parasitica in aquaculture facilities and natural freshwater environments. This would help in a better understanding of S. parasitica ecology and its effects on the host populations.