title: Ecology of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in the coastal and estuarine waters of Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and Washington (United States).
abstract: Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus, which are native to estuaries globally, are agents of seafood-borne or wound infections, both potentially fatal. Like all vibrios autochthonous to coastal regions, their abundance varies with changes in environmental parameters. Sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH), and chlorophyll have been shown to be predictors of zooplankton and thus factors linked to vibrio populations. The contribution of salinity, conductivity, turbidity, and dissolved organic carbon to the incidence and distribution of Vibrio spp. has also been reported. Here, a multicoastal, 21-month study was conducted to determine relationships between environmental parameters and V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus populations in water, oysters, and sediment in three coastal areas of the United States. Because ecologically unique sites were included in the study, it was possible to analyze individual parameters over wide ranges. Molecular methods were used to detect genes for thermolabile hemolysin (tlh), thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh), and tdh-related hemolysin (trh) as indicators of V. parahaemolyticus and the hemolysin gene vvhA for V. vulnificus. SST and suspended particulate matter were found to be strong predictors of total and potentially pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus. Other predictors included chlorophyll a, salinity, and dissolved organic carbon. For the ecologically unique sites included in the study, SST was confirmed as an effective predictor of annual variation in vibrio abundance, with other parameters explaining a portion of the variation not attributable to SST.
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University, Department of Environmental Sciences, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. cnjohnson@lsu.edu
authors.forename: Crystal N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.forename: Kimberly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Griffitt
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: Rachel W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Clostio
authors.forename: Shaofeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laws
authors.forename: Rohinee N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Paranjpye
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Strom
authors.forename: Arlene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Nur A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: Anwar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huq
authors.forename: Nicholas F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Noriea
authors.forename: D Jay
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Grimes
authors.forename: Rita R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Colwell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D054712:Salinity; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D014481:United States; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000254:growth & development*; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000254:growth & development*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D002734:Chlorophyll; D002244:Carbon; D000077194:Chlorophyll A