Survival of fish-virulent strains of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae in seawater under starvation conditions.
The survival of fish-virulent strains of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae in seawater microcosms, with and without sediment, was investigated. The strains survived as culturable bacteria at 14 and 22 degrees C for at least 1 year, and infectivity for fish was maintained. At 5 degrees C, cells lost culturability on solid media, but this was recovered when the temperature was increased to 22 degrees C. Finally, morphological changes in the bacterium (rod to coccus), and production of vesicles and extracellular material were observed during the time of starvation. The overall results suggest that seawater and sediment can act as reservoirs for these virulent strains.
Fouz
B
B
Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Toranzo
A E
AE
Marco-Noales
E
E
Amaro
C
C
D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D005399:Fishes / Q000382:microbiology; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence
D003470:Culture Media