Year round patchiness of Vibrio vulnificus within a temperate Texas bay.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate with high geographical resolution the small-scale spatial and temporal distribution of the pathogen Vibrio vulnificus throughout the water column in a temperate Texas bay where numerous V. vulnificus infections had been reported by the regional media the previous summer.


RESULTS
Surface and bottom water samples were collected from 19 sites between April 2005 and October 2006 from Matagorda Bay, TX. Physicochemical parameters were measured and V. vulnificus were analysed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) as a means of overcoming constraints of traditional culturing techniques. V. vulnificus was detected through out the year, although its temporal and spatial distribution was patchy. V. vulnificus abundances at individual sites ranged from <10 to >1·1×10(3)cellsml(-1) . No statistically reliable predictive model related to the physicochemical parameters could be developed for this pathogen.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that year round detection of V. vulnificus while likely in the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state during the winter months and emphasizes why physicochemical factors are insufficient metrics for robust regression modelling of this pathogen.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides an effective new tool, Q-PCR, to study environmental distribution of V. vulnificus and that in the light of the patchy distribution observed, new reliable approaches and a mechanistic understanding of pathogen ecology need to be considered to effectively model the aquatic distribution of V. vulnificus.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
S L M
SL
Franco
G J
GJ
Swenson
R A
RA
Long
D061006:Bays / Q000382:microbiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005843:Geography; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008954:Models, Biological; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D054712:Salinity; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology; D013696:Temperature; D013781:Texas; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014871:Water Microbiology
D010100:Oxygen