Details:

Journal Title:
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Personal Author:
Nigro, Olivia D. ; James-Davis, La’Toya I. ; De Carlo, Eric Heinen ; Li, Yuan-Hui ; Steward, Grieg F.
Nigro, Olivia D. ; James-Davis, La’Toya I. ; De Carlo, Eric Heinen ; Li, Yuan-Hui ; Steward, Grieg F. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; Sea Grant
OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; Sea Grant Less -
Sea Grant Program:
HAWAU (Hawaii Sea Grant)
Description:
To better understand the controls on the opportunistic human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus in warm tropical waters, we conducted a year-long investigation in the Ala Wai Canal, a channelized estuary in Honolulu, HI. The abundance of V. vulnificus, as determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR) of the hemolysin gene (vvhA), varied spatially and temporally by nearly 4 orders of magnitude (≤3 to 14,000 mL−1). Unlike in temperate and subtropical systems, temperatures were persistently warm (19 to 31°C) and explained little of the variability in V. vulnificus abundance. Salinity (1 to 36 ppt) had a significant, but nonlinear, relationship with V. vulnificus abundance with the highest vvhA concentrations (>2,500 mL−1) observed only at salinities from 7 to 22 ppt. V. vulnificus abundances were lower on average during the summer dry season, when waters were warmer but more saline. The highest canal-wide average abundances were observed during a time of modest rainfall, when moderate salinities and elevated concentrations of reduced nitrogen species and silica suggested a groundwater influence. Parallel quantification of the vcgC gene suggested that C-type strains, which are responsible for most human infections, comprised 25% of the total V. vulnificus on average, but their relative contribution was greater at higher salinities, suggesting a broader salinity tolerance. Generalized regression models suggested that up to 67% of sample-to-sample variation (n = 202) in log-transformed V. vulnificus abundance was explained using the measured environmental variables, and up to 97% of the monthly variation in canal-wide average concentrations (n = 13) was explained with the best subset of four variables.
Keywords:
[+]
Freshwater Vibrio Vulnificus
Source:
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 88(6): e01884-21
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01884-21
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
Grant no. NA09OAR4170060
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Submitted
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:1dca93277854e61cd27800ae7a6cb5621c82da80f0efe79f06167e125199926d
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/40082/noaa_40082_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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