Coral mucus rapidly induces chemokinesis and genome-wide transcriptional shifts toward early pathogenesis in a bacterial coral pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Elevated seawater temperatures have contributed to the rise of coral disease mediated by bacterial pathogens, such as the globally distributed Vibrio coralliilyticus, which utilizes coral mucus as a chemical cue to locate stressed corals. However, the physiological events in the pathogens that follow their entry into the coral host environment remain unknown. Here, we present simultaneous measurements of the behavioral and transcriptional responses of V. coralliilyticus BAA-450 incubated in coral mucus. Video microscopy revealed a strong and rapid chemokinetic behavioral response by the pathogen, characterized by a two-fold increase in average swimming speed within 6 min of coral mucus exposure. RNA sequencing showed that this bacterial behavior was accompanied by an equally rapid differen

SUBMITTER: Gao C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8630044 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature