Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A ostra plana Ostrea puelchana encontra-se distribuída do sudeste do Brasil ao norte da Patagônia, na Argentina, sobre fundos rochosos e banco de mexilhões. As larvas planctônicas de invertebrados sésseis, como as ostras, precisam de substratos duros para sua colonização e crescimento, e em habitats de gramas marinhas o substrato duro pode ser um fator limitante para esses organismos, pois os bancos de gramas marinhas, normalmente são formados em fundos não consolidados. Entretanto, O. puelchana apresenta alta densidade e freqüência no banco de gramas marinhas na Ilha do Japonês, pois se utiliza das conchas do gastrópode Cerithium atratum como substrato para sua fixação e crescimento, podendo com isso, ter efeito positivo, negativo ou nenhum efeito sobre esse gastrópode. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do trabalho foi investigar a dinâmica populacional de O. puelchana e seus efeitos sobre o desenvolvimento do gastrópode C. atratum na Ilha do Japonês, em Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro (22 52.925S, 42 00.200W). Foram estabelecidos três transectos com 50 m de extensão cada um, paralelos à margem da Ilha, com graus de exposição ao ar distintos: TA (sempre exposto); TB (freqüentemente exposto); TC (nunca exposto). Ao acaso, foram coletadas 10 amostras com um tubo de PVC de 455 cm3 por transecto, mensalmente, ao longo de um ano. Em cada amostragem, foram contados e medidos os indivíduos de O. puelchana e verificado em quais substratos foram encontrados. Indivíduos de O. puelchana foram colados, mensalmente, com epóxi em placas de 56,2 cm2, com intuito de se obter a taxa de crescimento mensal dessa espécie. Placas com essa mesma área foram instaladas mensalmente em três pontos de cada transecto (ponto 00, 25 e 50 m), para obtenção de dados sobre o assentamento dos juvenis. Diversos substratos, naturais e artificiais, foram instalados em três pontos distintos da área de estudo, para se verificar a preferência por determinados substratos. Com o propósito de se avaliar a influência da epibiose da ostra sobre o gastrópode, foram selecionados indivíduos de O. puelchana vivos e conchas vazias, de diversos tamanhos, em conchas de C. atratum para o experimento de interação entre as espécies, através do método de tether e o método da bandeira. De uma forma geral, os resultados encontrados no trabalho evidenciaram uma população com uma taxa de crescimento lenta, com indivíduos mais jovens propensos a um crescimento mais rápido. A população de Ostrea puelchana apresentou densidade alta com predominância de indivíduos jovens estruturando a população, que teve assentamento ao longo do ano, porém com uma tendência a uma distribuição temporal. As larvas apresentaram preferência por determinados substratos, tais como as próprias ostras vivas e o gastrópode Cerithium atratum. Com relação à interação de O. puelchana e C. atratum, o trabalho evidenciou que a epibiose da ostra influencia diretamente no desenvolvimento do gastrópode na área de estudo. / The flat oyster Ostrea puelchana is distributed from southeastern Brazil to northern Patagonia, in Argentina, living on rocky bottoms and mussel bed. Seagrass beds usually grow in sandy or muddy sediments, although planktonic larvae of sessile invertebrates need a hard substratum to settle and grow on, thereby hard substrates available can be a limiting factor for such organisms in soft-bottom habitats. In spite of that, O. puelchana has high density and frequency in the seagrass beds in Ilha do Japonês, because it uses the gastropod Cerithium atratums shells as a hard substrate for its attachment and growth, causing a positive, negative or no effect on this gastropod. In this context, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the population dynamics of O. puelchana and its effects on the development of the gastropod C. atratum. The study area chosen was Ilha do Japonês, city of Cabo Frio, State of Rio de Janeiro, on the tropical southeastern coast of Brazil (22 52.925S, 42 00.200W). Three transects of 50 m length each one were established, parallelly to the coast of Ilha do Japonês, with different degrees of exposure to the air: TA (ever exposed), TB (frequently exposed); TC (never exposed). Randomly, 10 samples per transect were collected with PVC corer (455 cm3), monthly, during a year. In each sample, O. puelchana individuals were counted and measured, and it was checked in which substrates they were found. O. puelchana individuals were fixed with epoxy on plates of 56,2 cm2 monthly, aiming to obtain the monthly growth rate of the species. Monthly, plates with the same area were installed in three points of each transect (points 00, 25 and 50m) to obtain data about juveniles recruitment. Several substrates, natural and artificial, were installed in three different points of the study area to determine preferences for certain substrates. With the objective to evaluate the influence of epibiotic oyster on the gastropod, we selected living O. puelchana individuals and empty shells of distinct sizes on C. atratum shells to the experiment of interaction between the species, using the method of tether and method of the "flag". In general, the results of the currently study indicated a population with a slow growth rate, with younger individuals tending to a faster growth. O. puelchana population presented high density with a predominance of young individuals structuring the population, which had been recruited during the year, but with a tendency to a temporal distribution. The larvae showed a preference for certain substrates, such as the live oysters of its own species and C. atratum. Regarding the interaction of O. puelchana and C. atratum, the work evidenced that the oyster epibiosis has directly influence in the development of gastropod in the study area.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A ostra plana Ostrea puelchana encontra-se distribuída do sudeste do Brasil ao norte da Patagônia, na Argentina, sobre fundos rochosos e banco de mexilhões. As larvas planctônicas de invertebrados sésseis, como as ostras, precisam de substratos duros para sua colonização e crescimento, e em habitats de gramas marinhas o substrato duro pode ser um fator limitante para esses organismos, pois os bancos de gramas marinhas, normalmente são formados em fundos não consolidados. Entretanto, O. puelchana apresenta alta densidade e freqüência no banco de gramas marinhas na Ilha do Japonês, pois se utiliza das conchas do gastrópode Cerithium atratum como substrato para sua fixação e crescimento, podendo com isso, ter efeito positivo, negativo ou nenhum efeito sobre esse gastrópode. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do trabalho foi investigar a dinâmica populacional de O. puelchana e seus efeitos sobre o desenvolvimento do gastrópode C. atratum na Ilha do Japonês, em Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro (22 52.925S, 42 00.200W). Foram estabelecidos três transectos com 50 m de extensão cada um, paralelos à margem da Ilha, com graus de exposição ao ar distintos: TA (sempre exposto); TB (freqüentemente exposto); TC (nunca exposto). Ao acaso, foram coletadas 10 amostras com um tubo de PVC de 455 cm3 por transecto, mensalmente, ao longo de um ano. Em cada amostragem, foram contados e medidos os indivíduos de O. puelchana e verificado em quais substratos foram encontrados. Indivíduos de O. puelchana foram colados, mensalmente, com epóxi em placas de 56,2 cm2, com intuito de se obter a taxa de crescimento mensal dessa espécie. Placas com essa mesma área foram instaladas mensalmente em três pontos de cada transecto (ponto 00, 25 e 50 m), para obtenção de dados sobre o assentamento dos juvenis. Diversos substratos, naturais e artificiais, foram instalados em três pontos distintos da área de estudo, para se verificar a preferência por determinados substratos. Com o propósito de se avaliar a influência da epibiose da ostra sobre o gastrópode, foram selecionados indivíduos de O. puelchana vivos e conchas vazias, de diversos tamanhos, em conchas de C. atratum para o experimento de interação entre as espécies, através do método de tether e o método da bandeira. De uma forma geral, os resultados encontrados no trabalho evidenciaram uma população com uma taxa de crescimento lenta, com indivíduos mais jovens propensos a um crescimento mais rápido. A população de Ostrea puelchana apresentou densidade alta com predominância de indivíduos jovens estruturando a população, que teve assentamento ao longo do ano, porém com uma tendência a uma distribuição temporal. As larvas apresentaram preferência por determinados substratos, tais como as próprias ostras vivas e o gastrópode Cerithium atratum. Com relação à interação de O. puelchana e C. atratum, o trabalho evidenciou que a epibiose da ostra influencia diretamente no desenvolvimento do gastrópode na área de estudo. / The flat oyster Ostrea puelchana is distributed from southeastern Brazil to northern Patagonia, in Argentina, living on rocky bottoms and mussel bed. Seagrass beds usually grow in sandy or muddy sediments, although planktonic larvae of sessile invertebrates need a hard substratum to settle and grow on, thereby hard substrates available can be a limiting factor for such organisms in soft-bottom habitats. In spite of that, O. puelchana has high density and frequency in the seagrass beds in Ilha do Japonês, because it uses the gastropod Cerithium atratums shells as a hard substrate for its attachment and growth, causing a positive, negative or no effect on this gastropod. In this context, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the population dynamics of O. puelchana and its effects on the development of the gastropod C. atratum. The study area chosen was Ilha do Japonês, city of Cabo Frio, State of Rio de Janeiro, on the tropical southeastern coast of Brazil (22 52.925S, 42 00.200W). Three transects of 50 m length each one were established, parallelly to the coast of Ilha do Japonês, with different degrees of exposure to the air: TA (ever exposed), TB (frequently exposed); TC (never exposed). Randomly, 10 samples per transect were collected with PVC corer (455 cm3), monthly, during a year. In each sample, O. puelchana individuals were counted and measured, and it was checked in which substrates they were found. O. puelchana individuals were fixed with epoxy on plates of 56,2 cm2 monthly, aiming to obtain the monthly growth rate of the species. Monthly, plates with the same area were installed in three points of each transect (points 00, 25 and 50m) to obtain data about juveniles recruitment. Several substrates, natural and artificial, were installed in three different points of the study area to determine preferences for certain substrates. With the objective to evaluate the influence of epibiotic oyster on the gastropod, we selected living O. puelchana individuals and empty shells of distinct sizes on C. atratum shells to the experiment of interaction between the species, using the method of tether and method of the "flag". In general, the results of the currently study indicated a population with a slow growth rate, with younger individuals tending to a faster growth. O. puelchana population presented high density with a predominance of young individuals structuring the population, which had been recruited during the year, but with a tendency to a temporal distribution. The larvae showed a preference for certain substrates, such as the live oysters of its own species and C. atratum. Regarding the interaction of O. puelchana and C. atratum, the work evidenced that the oyster epibiosis has directly influence in the development of gastropod in the study area.

L’huître plate, Ostrea edulis, est l’espèce d’huître endémique européenne. Sa production est aujourd’hui réduite en raison de surpêches historiques et de maladies dont la bonamiose. En raison des fortes mortalités observées chez l’huître creuse ces dernières années les conchyliculteurs tendent à vouloir diversifier leur production et manifestent un regain d’intérêt pour cette espèce patrimoniale. Néanmoins, la bonamiose, maladie due au parasite protozoaire, Bonamia ostreae, reste un problème majeur pour la production de cette espèce. Les moyens de lutte contre cette maladie sont limités, mais nécessitent de meilleures connaissances sur les interactions entre l’huître plate et le parasite. De précédentes études ont suggéré que l’apoptose est activée par l’huître plate pour se défendre contre le parasite. Ce mécanisme est connu pour être impliqué dans de nombreux processus biologiques dont la défense contre des organismes pathogènes. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif général de ce travail de thèse est de mieux caractériser l’implication de l’apoptose dans la réponse de l’huître plate à une infection à B. ostreae. Des outils ont tout d’abord été développés afin d’étudier le processus apoptotique d’un point de vue cellulaire en cytométrie en flux et microscopie ainsi que d’un point de vue moléculaire en mesurant l’expression de gènes impliqués dans l’apoptose. Ces outils ont alors été utilisés pour étudier les interactions entre O. edulis et B. ostreae in vitro et in vivo. Les résultats obtenus confirment l’implication de l’apoptose dans les mécanismes de défense de l’huître plate en réponse à B. ostreae et mettent en évidence la capacité du parasite à déjouer ce mécanisme afin de survivre et se multiplier dans les hémocytes. Enfin, la réponse apoptotique a été appréhendée chez l’huître plate et l’huître creuse dans le cadre d’expositions à divers micro-organismes : OsHV-1, Vibrio aestuarianus et des micro-algues. / The flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is the European endemic oyster species. Its production has been reduced because of overfishing and diseases including bonamiosis. Massive mortalities observed on the Pacific cupped oyster these last years explained the wish of shellfish farmers to diversify their production and their revival of interest for this patrimonial oyster species. However, bonamiosis due to the protozoan, Bonamia ostreae, is still a major problem for the production of this species. Measures to control the disease are limited and require a better knowledge of the interactions between the flat oyster and the parasite. Previous studies have suggested the involvement of apoptosis in flat oyster defense mechanisms against B. ostreae. This mechanism is involved in various biological mechanisms including defense against pathogens. In this context, the main objective of this PhD work was to better characterize the involvement of the apoptosis during interactions between the flat oyster and the parasite B. ostreae. In a first step, some tools were developed in order to study the apoptotic process at the cellular level using flow cytometry and microscopy as well as at the molecular level by measuring apoptotic gene expression. In a second step, these tools were used to study O. edulis-B. ostreae interactions in vitro and in vivo. Obtained results confirm the involvement of apoptosis in the response of the flat oyster to B. ostreae and demonstrate the ability of the parasite to inhibit the apoptosis pathway in order to survive and multiply within the hemocytes. Finally, the apoptotic response has been investigated in the flat and Pacific oysters after exposure to diverse micro-organism: OsHV-1, Vibrio aestuarianus and micro-algae.

Ostrea lurida Carpenter 1864 is the only native oyster on the western North American coast, but it is functionally extinct in most of its historic range. Knowledge of environmental tolerances during larval development of O. lurida is minimal, which limits recovery strategies for this listed “species of special concern” (Species At Risk Act). The effects of rearing temperature (13, 17, 21°C), salinity (11, 15, 21, 24, 30, 31 psu) and food concentration (5x103, 1x104 and 5x104 algal cells/ml) on larval growth and development were investigated. Larvae were obtained from laboratory conditioned adults from Ladysmith Harbour, and the Gorge Waterway on Vancouver Island BC. At low temperature (13°C), salinity (15 psu) and food concentration (5x103 algal cells/ml) larvae did not grow or develop. Higher temperature, salinity and food concentration increased growth and developmental rates. Larvae reared at higher food densities and salinities, but not higher temperature, were larger when eyespots differentiated. / Graduate

Human activities are causing a global loss of plant and animal species, degrading ecosystem properties and threatening ecosystem services. One indicator of these losses is the increasing proportion of fish stocks in decline, and the Challenger oyster fishery in Tasman Bay, central New Zealand is an example of one such fishery. Anthropogenic effects from land-based activities, and towed-gear fishing have been implicated as contributors to the decline of shellfisheries and degradation of the marine ecosystem in Tasman Bay. Increased sedimentation in the bay caused by soil erosion and runoff associated with forestry, agriculture and subdivision is likely to have a range of negative effects on the benthic community. Also towed-gear fishing, dredging and trawling homogenise benthic habitat structure (reduce habitat heterogeneity) and facilitate sediment resuspension as well as causing removal and direct physical damage to benthic biota. There is an imperative to seek to mitigate these effects and look at ways to restore the benthic community including the commercial shellfish species. In this context, my central hypothesis was that enhancement of the benthic habitat by returning waste shell to the seabed would increase oyster production for the fishery. Related to this main goal of oyster fishery enhancement, a primary objective of the study was to fill knowledge gaps relating to the biology and ecology of the oyster in Tasman Bay. The second main topic of my thesis was to investigate how this form of habitat enhancement would alter the benthic community structure, and potentially aid in restoration of the wider ecosystem in the bay. I sought to link the twin goals of fishery enhancement and ecological restoration by considering potential management measures to promote a sustainable oyster fishery and at the same time facilitate ecological restoration within Tasman Bay. The investigations focused on four main themes: temporal patterns of oyster larval abundance, spatial patterns of spatfall and larval dispersal, effects of habitat enhancement on oyster population productivity, and effects of habitat enhancement on the benthic faunal community. Laboratory and field studies were conducted between October 2004 and May 2009. A peak period of oyster reproductive activity began in late spring and continued through summer in each year. Maximum rates of adult oysters brooding larvae were 17% in November 2004 and 2005, and 23 % in December 2006. Over the entire summer breeding period it was estimated that 55 to 78 % of adult oysters incubated larvae. A very low level of brooding activity (1 %) occurred during winter. Temporal trends in larval settlement closely tracked brooding patterns. Settlement on collectors deployed in Tasman Bay was greatest between November and January, and there were very low rates in winter. Results are useful in optimising the timing of substratum deployment in an enhancement program for the oyster fishery. Spat settlement density was strongly related to background adult oyster density. Spat settlement on experimental arrays deployed through the water column only occurred within a narrow vertical range very close to (<1 m above) the seabed. If suitable habitat is available for settlement, oysters tend to settle within a few hours after release, but approximately half of the larvae settled in a laboratory experiment were capable of remaining viable for several days. Oyster distribution assessed at the scale of the shellfishing industry’s annual biomass survey (median distance between sample tows ~ 1 km) is adequate to broadly predict spat settlement distribution in the subsequent settlement season, and the distribution of mature oysters is a key determinant in the placement of shell for habitat enhancement to maximise spat settlement. Deployment of waste whole scallop shell on the seabed as settlement substratum increased oyster spat density significantly. Available settlement surface on enhanced shell plots decreased by 82% in the five months after deployment, due to fouling by numerous invertebrates and sedimentation. Survival of oysters recruited to enhanced habitat was generally very low, and varied greatly among 4 experimental sites and through time. After 3+ years, survival among site/treatment combinations ranged from 0% to 0.04%. At the site where survival was greatest, the absolute density of oysters surviving to 3.41 years on enhanced habitat was estimated as 0.4 m⁻². This equated to an increase in relative density of commercial sized oysters from ~0.01 m⁻² prior to enhancement, to ~0.14 m⁻² at the end of the experiment, and demonstrated that habitat enhancement can elevate adult oyster densities to commercial levels on areas of seabed where oysters were previously below threshold densities for commercial fishing (0.02 m⁻²). Peaks in mortality occurred within experimental plots when oysters were less than one year old, and three years old. Growth modeling indicated that after 4.25 years, 98% of living oysters would attain legal size (≥ 58mm length), and 92% would attain sufficient shell depth (≥ 20 mm) to provide high grade (grade A in the industry) meat. Shell depth was a better morphometric predictor of meat weight than either shell height or shell length. The species assemblages on the shell-enhanced habitat were distinct from those on adjacent non-enhanced seabed. Measures of taxonomic and functional richness, faunal densities, and taxonomic redundancy within functional groups all increased in enhanced habitat. Beta and gamma diversity also increased due to patchiness of the habitat created within enhanced experimental sites. Large scale habitat enhancement in Tasman Bay via the deposition of waste shell on the seabed is likely to confer benefits to ecosystem function associated with those community level effects. To sustain an oyster fishery in Tasman Bay, an ecosystem-based approach to fishery management is recommended to facilitate restoration of benthic habitats and communities and to help maintain ecosystem function supporting all components of the benthic community, including the oyster population. Planning and implementation of a combination of specific management measures including habitat enhancement, rotational fishing, permanent exclusion of towed fishing gear from a network of protected areas, and integration of the management of the oyster, scallop, and finfish fisheries would provide the best chance for restoration and maintenance of a sustainable oyster fishery.

The Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida. was overharvested in the early 20th century and is now the focus of restoration efforts in estuaries along the west coast of North America. These efforts would be aided by a better understanding of larval abundance patterns, settlement behavior, and post-settlement performance of oysters in estuaries throughout its range. In Coos Bay, Oregon, all three of these components of the oyster life cycle were investigated at multiple sites. Like adult oysters, larvae were restricted to the upper portion of the bay, although larvae were supplied to sites in the upper bay where settlement was low. Settlement and post-settlement growth was highest at sites of high adult density. These results indicate that in O. lurida, as in many other marine invertebrates, the adult population is subject to bottlenecks at the larval and juvenile stage that can vary spatially. This thesis contains previously unpublished co-authored material. / 2014-12-16

L'histoire de l'ostréiculture française met en évidence la fragilité de cette production face à la surexploitation des stocks et l'apparition de maladies. En particulier, la production d'huître plate, Ostrea edulis, a fortement diminué suite à l'apparition de deux maladies parasitaires dont la bonamiose. Les moyens de lutte contre la bonamiose sont relativement restreints. Ils sont essentiellement basés sur la surveillance de la santé des huîtres afin de limiter la dissémination et la propagation de la maladie. Cependant l'utilisation de modèles prédictifs de l'évolution de la maladie en zone infectée permettrait d'optimiser la gestion des stocks et minimiser l'impact des agents pathogènes. De plus, le développement d'animaux résistants à l'infection pourrait permettre de relancer cette production. Ces différentes approches nécessitent des outils diagnostiques adaptés, une bonne connaissance du cycle de vie de l'agent pathogène, et, plus particulièrement des interactions du parasite avec son hôte. Dans ce contexte, l'objectif principal du travail de thèse proposé est de comprendre les interactions entre l'huître plate Ostrea edulis et son parasite Bonamia ostreae, et, plus particulièrement les bases moléculaires de la résistance au parasite. Dans un premier temps, la réalisation d'une banque soustractive d'ADNc a permis d'identifier des ESTs différentiellement exprimées chez des hémocytes en réponse au parasite. L'expression de certains gènes dont une galectine a été mesurée en PCR en temps réel dans le contexte d'infections in vitro. En complément, la réponse cellulaire a été étudiée par cytométrie en flux et l'infection contrôlée en microscopie. Ces expériences ont montré une multiplication parasitaire dans les hémocytes au cours du temps associée à une diminution de la production d'EOR et d'estérases. Dans un second temps, il a été entrepris une étude comparative entre une population d'huîtres plates résistantes à la bonamiose et une population naturelle. Les résultats obtenus tendent à montrer qu'une modulation de l'apoptose et une diminution de la phagocytose seraient impliquées dans les mécanismes liés à la résistance à la bonamiose. Ce travail est le premier à étudier la réponse des hémocytes d'huîtres plates à une infection par le parasite Bonamia ostreae au niveau cellulaire et moléculaire.

xiii, 86 p. : ill. (some col.) / In the Pacific Northwest, populations of the Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida, were once decimated by overharvesting and natural disasters. Their full recovery may now be limited by availability of hard substrata for larval settlement. I studied the timing of settlement and larval preferences for commonly available substrata, including conspecifics and the shells of Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, which are often provided in restoration efforts. Settlement occurred from August-December with a peak in October. I found no significant settlement differences between live and dead oysters or between shells of Olympia or Pacific oysters. There was significantly higher settlement on bottoms of horizontal substrata than on tops. In the laboratory, larvae showed no clear preferences among various hard substrata. This lack of settlement preference has positive implications for restoration projects, since Pacific oyster shell is much easier to obtain and seems to be no less beneficial than the shells of conspecifics. / Committee in charge: Dr. Craig M. Young, Chairperson; Dr. Richard B. Emlet, Member; Dr. Steven S. Rumrill, Member

From January 2012 to December 2012 I collected adult oysters from two intertidal populations on a monthly basis in the Coos Bay estuary, Oregon for histological analysis of their gonads. Gametogenesis and spawning occur seasonally from May through September, when water temperatures exceed 14.5&deg C, with brooding oysters found from July through September. Oocyte diameters increased significantly from May to June, and from June to July within oyster populations at Haynes Inlet and Coalbank Slough, respectively. Male gametogenesis initiated in May at Haynes Inlet and in June at Coalbank Slough. Dry meat condition values increased significantly during periods of reproduction and decreased following the reproductive season's end. Condition index values for Coalbank Slough were consistently lower than those at Haynes Inlet, suggesting poor nutrition or physiological stress. Salinities below recorded physiological thresholds are believed to be the primary environmental factor influencing the discrepancy in reproductive activity at Coalbank Slough.

L’histoire de l’ostréiculture française met en évidence la fragilité de cette production face à la surexploitation des stocks et l’apparition de maladies. En particulier, la production d’huître plate, Ostrea edulis, a fortement diminué suite à l’apparition de deux maladies parasitaires dont la bonamiose. Les moyens de lutte contre la bonamiose sont relativement restreints. Ils sont essentiellement basés sur la surveillance de la santé des huîtres afin de limiter la dissémination et la propagation de la maladie. Cependant l’utilisation de modèles prédictifs de l’évolution de la maladie en zone infectée permettrait d’optimiser la gestion des stocks et minimiser l’impact des agents pathogènes. De plus, le développement d’animaux résistants à l’infection pourrait permettre de relancer cette production. Ces différentes approches nécessitent des outils diagnostiques adaptés, une bonne connaissance du cycle de vie de l’agent pathogène, et, plus particulièrement des interactions du parasite avec son hôte. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif principal du travail de thèse proposé est de comprendre les interactions entre l’huître plate Ostrea edulis et son parasite Bonamia ostreae, et, plus particulièrement les bases moléculaires de la résistance au parasite. Dans un premier temps, la réalisation d’une banque soustractive d’ADNc a permis d’identifier des ESTs différentiellement exprimées chez des hémocytes en réponse au parasite. L’expression de certains gènes dont une galectine a été mesurée en PCR en temps réel dans le contexte d’infections in vitro. En complément, la réponse cellulaire a été étudiée par cytométrie en flux et l’infection contrôlée en microscopie. Ces expériences ont montré une multiplication parasitaire dans les hémocytes au cours du temps associée à une diminution de la production d’EOR et d’estérases. Dans un second temps, il a été entrepris une étude comparative entre une population d’huîtres plates résistantes à la bonamiose et une population naturelle. Les résultats obtenus tendent à montrer qu’une modulation de l’apoptose et une diminution de la phagocytose seraient impliquées dans les mécanismes liés à la résistance à la bonamiose. Ce travail est le premier à étudier la réponse des hémocytes d’huîtres plates à une infection par le parasite Bonamia ostreae au niveau cellulaire et moléculaire. / The history of the French oyster production highlights the fragility of this production against overexploitation and disease outbreaks. In particular, the production of flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, has decreased following the emergence of two parasitic diseases including bonamiosis. The means to fight against bonamiosis are relatively limited. They are mainly based on oyster health surveillance to limit the spread of the disease. However, the use of predictive models of disease progression in infected area would help to improve stock management and minimize the impact pathogens. Moreover the development of resistant animals could help to revive this production. These different approaches require appropriate diagnostic tools, a good knowledge of the life cycle of the pathogen, and the interactions between the parasite and its host. In this context, the main objective of the phD work is to understand the interactions between the flat oyster Ostrea edulis and the parasite Bonamia ostreae, and particularly the molecular basis of the resistance to the parasite. In a first step, a subtractive cDNA bank allowed the identification of ESTs differentially expressed in haemocytes in response to the parasite. Expression of some genes, among which a galectin, was measured by Real Time PCR in the context of in vitro infections. In addition, the cellular response was investigated by flow cytometry and the infection was checked by microscopy. These experiments showed a multiplication of the parasite inside haemocytes associated with a decreased of esterases and of the production of ROS. In a second step, a comparative approach was carried out between a population of oysters resistant to bonamiosis and a natural population. Results suggest that modulation of apopotosis and decrease of phagocytosis could be involved in mechanisms related to resistance to bonamiosis. This work is the first study on the response of haemocytes of flat oysters to an infection with the parasite Bonamia ostreae at the cellular and molecular levels.