This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cervino, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cervino, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Cervino, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6855-6864, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6855-6864.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Relationship of Vibrio Species Infection and Elevated Temperatures to Yellow Blotch/Band Disease in Caribbean Corals

James M. Cervino,1* Raymond L. Hayes,2 Shawn W. Polson,3 Sara C. Polson,3 Thomas J. Goreau,4 Robert J. Martinez,5 and Garriet W. Smith6

University of South Carolina, Columbia,1 Hollings Marine Laboratory, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston,3 University of South Carolina, Aiken, South Carolina,6 Howard University, Washington, District of Columbia,2 Global Coral Reef Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts,4 Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia5

Received 20 April 2004/ Accepted 29 June 2004

The bacterial and temperature factors leading to yellow blotch/band disease (YBD), which affects the major reef-building Caribbean corals Montastrea spp., have been investigated. Groups of bacteria isolated from affected corals and inoculated onto healthy corals caused disease signs similar to those of YBD. The 16S rRNA genes from these bacteria were sequenced and found to correspond to four Vibrio spp. Elevating the water temperature notably increased the rate of spread of YBD on inoculated corals and induced greater coral mortality. YBD-infected corals held at elevated water temperatures had 50% lower zooxanthella densities, 80% lower division rates, and a 75% decrease in chlorophyll a and c2 pigments compared with controls. Histological sections indicated that the algal pyrenoid was fragmented into separate segments, along with a reconfiguration and swelling of the zooxanthellae, as well as vacuolization. YBD does not appear to produce the same physiological response formerly observed in corals undergoing temperature-related bleaching. Evidence indicates that YBD affects primarily the symbiotic algae rather than coral tissue.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York, NY 10038. Phone: (917) 620-5287. E-mail: cnidaria{at}earthlink.net.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6855-6864, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6855-6864.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»