Vibrio crassostreae, a benign oyster colonizer turned into a pathogen after plasmid acquisition.

ABSTRACT: Vibrios are frequently associated with oyster mortality; however whether they are the primary causative agent or secondary opportunistic colonizers is not well understood. Here we combine analysis of natural infection dynamics, population genomics and molecular genetics to ask (i) to what extent oysters are passively colonized by Vibrio population present in the surrounding water, (ii) how populations turn over during pathogenicity events and (iii) what genetic factors are responsible for pathogenicity. We identified several populations of Vibrio preferentially associated with oyster tissues. Among these, Vibrio crassostreae is particularly abundant in diseased animals while nearly absent in the surrounding water, and its pathogenicity is correlated with the presence of a large mobilizable

SUBMITTER: Bruto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5364345 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature