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 HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Comeau, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Suttle, C. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Comeau, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Suttle, C. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Comeau, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Suttle, C. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5324-5331, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5324-5331.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Persistent, Productive, and Seasonally Dynamic Vibriophage Population within Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

André M. Comeau,1 Enrico Buenaventura,2 and Curtis A. Suttle1,3*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada,1 Departments of Botany and of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada,3 Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Burnaby Laboratory, 2250 Boundary Road, Burnaby, British Columbia V5M 4L9, Canada2

Received 6 January 2005/ Accepted 1 April 2005

In an effort to understand the relationship between Vibrio and vibriophage populations, abundances of Vibrio spp. and viruses infecting Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VpVs) were monitored for a year in Pacific oysters and water collected from Ladysmith Harbor, British Columbia, Canada. Bacterial abundances were highly seasonal, whereas high titers of VpVs (0.5 x 104 to 11 x 104 viruses cm–3) occurred year round in oysters, even when V. parahaemolyticus was undetectable (<3 cells cm–3). Viruses were not detected (<10 ml–1) in the water column. Host-range studies demonstrated that 13 VpV strains could infect 62% of the V. parahaemolyticus strains from oysters (91 pairings) and 74% of the strains from sediments (65 pairings) but only 30% of the water-column strains (91 pairings). Ten viruses also infected more than one species among V. alginolyticus, V. natriegens, and V. vulnificus. As winter approached and potential hosts disappeared, the proportion of host strains that the viruses could infect decreased by ~50% and, in the middle of winter, only 14% of the VpV community could be plated on summer host strains. Estimates of virus-induced mortality on V. parahaemolyticus indicated that other host species were required to sustain viral production during winter when the putative host species was undetectable. The present study shows that oysters are likely one of the major sources of viruses infecting V. parahaemolyticus in oysters and in the water column. Furthermore, seasonal shifts in patterns of host range provide strong evidence that the composition of the virus community changes during winter.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Rm. 1461, BioSciences Bldg., 6270 University Blvd., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada. Phone: (604) 822-8610. Fax: (604) 822-6091. E-mail: csuttle{at}eos.ubc.ca.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5324-5331, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5324-5331.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Stenholm, A. R., Dalsgaard, I., Middelboe, M. (2008). Isolation and Characterization of Bacteriophages Infecting the Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4070-4078 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Holmfeldt, K., Middelboe, M., Nybroe, O., Riemann, L. (2007). Large Variabilities in Host Strain Susceptibility and Phage Host Range Govern Interactions between Lytic Marine Phages and Their Flavobacterium Hosts. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6730-6739 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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