Quorum sensing (QS) is a bacterial communication mechanism used to express various survival or virulence traits leading to enhanced resistance. Chromobacterium violaceum is a commonly used strain that highlights anti-QS action of bioactive substances. Here, we wanted to see if 12 selected essential oils (EO) could exert anti-QS activity. We measured the sublethal minimal QS inhibitory concentration (MQSIC) by assessing violacein production of C. violaceum along with bacterial growth. To confirm the QS disruption, we also proceed to surface bacterial observations using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We showed that cis-cis-p-menthenolide extracted and isolated from a plant endemic to occidental Mediterranean Sea islands, Mentha suaveolens ssp. insularis, acts as an inhibitor of violacein production and biofilm formation. Measured MQSIC was much lower than the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC): 0.10 mg·mL⁻¹ vs. 3.00 mg·mL⁻¹. Moreover, disturbance of QS-related traits was confirmed by the degradation of C. violaceum biofilm matrix. There is a clear structure–activity relationship between cis-cis-p-menthenolide and anti-QS activity. Indeed, its isomer molecule (mintlactone) exerts a poor anti-QS action. These results indicate that inhibition of violacein production and biofilm formation by cis-cis-p-menthenolide might be related to a disruption in the QS mechanism.

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) include a wide range of bacteria, parasites and viruses that cause a large spectrum of animal, human and zoonotic tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The object of this review was to establish an inventory and an analysis of TBPs found in domestic animals in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. This geographic area occupies a central position between several continents and is an area of movement for animals, humans and pathogens of interest and their vectors, which is important in terms of animal and human health. In this systematic review, we included a total of 271 publications produced between 2000–2021 concerning TBPs in domestic animals. Among this literature, we found a total of 90 pathogen species (known as TBPs) reported in the 20 countries of the area; these were detected in tick species from domestic animals and were also directly detected in domestic animals. In all, 31 tick species were recorded and 12 domestic animal species, the latter comprising nine livestock and three pet species. More than 50% of the publications were from Western Europe. Island data were extracted and assessed, as islands of the Mediterranean Basin were represented in 16% of the publications and 77.8% of the TBPs reported. Our results show the importance of islands in the monitoring of TBPs, despite the low percentage of publications.

Under ongoing climate changes, the development of large‐scale monitoring tools for assessing the risk of disease emergence constitutes an urging challenge. This is particularly the case for snail‐borne diseases such as the urogenital bilharziasis that emerged in Corsica and threat European countries. The expansion of this tropical disease mainly relies on the local presence of competent snail hosts such as Bulinus truncatus. Unfortunately, very little is known about the actual repartition of freshwater snails worldwide which makes new emergences difficult to predict. In this study, we developed two ready‐to‐use environmental DNA‐based methods for assessing the distribution of B. truncatus from water samples collected in the field. We used two approaches, a quantitative PCR (qPCR) and a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) approach. We successfully detected B. truncatus in natural environments where the snail was previously visually reported. Our environmental DNA diagnostic methods showed a high sensitivity (≈60 DNA copy per mL of filtered water) and a high specificity to B. truncatus. Results obtained in qPCR and ddPCR were very similar. This study demonstrates that environmental DNA diagnostics tools enable a sensitive large‐scale monitoring of snail‐borne diseases hence allowing the delimitation of areas potentially threatened by urogenital schistosomiasis.

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) can be divided into three groups: bacteria, parasites, and viruses. They are transmitted by a wide range of tick species and cause a variety of human, animal, and zoonotic diseases. A total of 148 publications were found on tick-borne pathogens in wild animals, reporting on 85 species of pathogens from 35 tick species and 17 wild animal hosts between 2000 and February 2021. The main TBPs reported were of bacterial origin, including Anaplasma spp. and Rickettsia spp. A total of 72.2% of the TBPs came from infected ticks collected from wild animals. The main tick genus positive for TBPs was Ixodes. This genus was mainly reported in Western Europe, which was the focus of most of the publications (66.9%). It was followed by the Hyalomma genus, which was mainly reported in other areas of the Mediterranean Rim. These TBPs and TBP-positive tick genera were reported to have come from a total of 17 wild animal hosts. The main hosts reported were game mammals such as red deer and wild boars, but small vertebrates such as birds and rodents were also found to be infected. Of the 148 publications, 12.8% investigated publications on Mediterranean islands, and 36.8% of all the TBPs were reported in seven tick genera and 11 wild animal hosts there. The main TBP-positive wild animals and tick genera reported on these islands were birds and Hyalomma spp. Despite the small percentage of publications focusing on ticks, they reveal the importance of islands when monitoring TBPs in wild animals. This is especially true for wild birds, which may disseminate their ticks and TBPs along their migration path.

The introduction of non-native freshwater fish is a primary cause of aquatic biodiversity loss at global scale. Such introductions have a severe impact on freshwater ecosystems in terms of competition, predation, habitat alteration, genetic pollution and transmission of diseases and parasites. A systematic review was conducted on the helminths parasites of freshwater fish in the context of species introduction and a total of 199 publications were retrieved between 1969 and November 2022. Several scenarios may arise when a new fish species arrive in a recipient area. Non-native fish hosts can co-introduce their parasites without transmitting them to native fish (e.g., the case of North American Centrarchidae and their Monogenea parasites). Another possible outcome is the transfer of these parasites to the native fish fauna (spillover, e.g., the cases of the Nematoda Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi & Itagaki, 1974 and the Monogenea Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957). Reciprocally, non-native fish hosts may acquire parasites in their new distribution range whether these parasites are native or were previously introduced (e.g., the cases of Ponto-Caspian Gobiidae and the Chinese sleeper Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877). Acquired parasites can then be spilled back to the native fauna. This phenomenon is of particular interest when non-native fish hosts influence the dynamics of zoonotic parasites.

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of anoplocephalid cestodes in sheep and goats in Senegal. Intestines of 462 sheep and 48 goats were examined; 47.4% of sheep and 6.2% of goats were infected. The species identified and their prevalence were, among sheep,Avitellina centripunctata38.7%,Moniezia expansa15.4%,Stilesia globipunctata16.7%, andThysaniezia ovilla0.4%. Among goats, they wereM. expansa6.2% andT. ovilla2.1%. The prevalence of all species was not statistically different between dry and rainy seasons. The infections were single or multiple. Indeed, 56.2% of sheep were infected by a single species, 37.4% by two species, and 6.4% by three species. For goats, 66.7% were infected byM. expansaand 33.3% by bothM. expansaandT. ovilla. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations of tapeworms show the general diagnosis characters of these species.