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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1940-1951, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02520-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Microbial Diversity within Early-Stage Cultured Panulirus ornatus Phyllosomas

Matthew S. Payne,^1,2 Mike R. Hall,¹ Lindsay Sly,² and David G. Bourne^1*

The Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia,¹ School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia²

Received 30 October 2006/ Accepted 30 December 2006

A thorough understanding of the microorganisms and pathogens associated with the larval stage of the tropical ornate rock lobster, Panulirus ornatus, is required to overcome disease outbreaks that currently block aquaculture attempts. This study used microscopy in addition to culture and molecularly based microbiological techniques to characterize the bacterial community associated with cultured, developmental stage PI to PII P. ornatus phyllosomas. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated colonization of phyllosomas by filamentous, rod-shaped, and coccus-shaped bacteria. A clone library constructed from dead phyllosomas sampled from the larval rearing tank on day 10 was dominated by Thiothrix-affiliated sequences (56% of clones). A comparable library from live phyllosomas also contained Thiothrix-affiliated sequences, though these only represented 19% of clones within the library. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmed identification of the filamentous bacteria as Thiothrix sp., being present on dead phyllosomas. FISH also identified Leucothrix sp. and Vibrio sp., as well as a range of other rod- and coccus-shaped bacteria, colonizing both live and dead phyllosomas. The development of the microbial community associated with phyllosomas was monitored through a standard larval rearing run using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Vibrio sp.-affiliated bands dominated the profiles of live animals through the rearing period and dead phyllosomas sampled on selected days. The population of Vibrio sp. associated with phyllosomas was monitored with culture-based analysis on selective media and demonstrated to increase significantly on day 7, coinciding with the beginning of the larval molt. An isolated Vibrio harveyi strain demonstrated an identical 16S rRNA sequence with retrieved DGGE and clone library sequences. Colonization of phyllosomas with filamentous bacterial species potentially hinders the ability of the animals to molt and, combined with the added stress of the molt process, likely results in reduced immune function, allowing opportunistic pathogenic Vibrio sp. to cause larval mortalities.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: the Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville MC, QLD 4810, Australia. Phone: (7) 4753 4139. Fax: (7) 4772 5852. E-mail: d.bourne{at}aims.gov.au.

Published ahead of print on 12 January 2007.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1940-1951, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02520-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.