Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida
A deadly coral disease outbreak has been devastating the Florida Reef Tract since 2014. This disease, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), affects at least 22 coral species causing the progressive destruction of tissue. The etiological agents responsible for SCTLD are unidentified, but pathogeni...
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doaj-6fd3c62a59f54b47a2e261268ce47f4b2020-11-25T03:56:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2020-10-011110.3389/fmicb.2020.569354569354Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in FloridaBlake Ushijima0Julie L. Meyer1Sharon Thompson2Kelly Pitts3Michael F. Marusich4Jessica Tittl5Elizabeth Weatherup6Jacqueline Reu7Raquel Wetzell8Greta S. Aeby9Claudia C. Häse10Valerie J. Paul11Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesSoil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesmAbDx, Inc., Eugene, OR, United StatesSoil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesCarlson College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesSmithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, United StatesA deadly coral disease outbreak has been devastating the Florida Reef Tract since 2014. This disease, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), affects at least 22 coral species causing the progressive destruction of tissue. The etiological agents responsible for SCTLD are unidentified, but pathogenic bacteria are suspected. Virulence screens of 400 isolates identified four potentially pathogenic strains of Vibrio spp. subsequently identified as V. coralliilyticus. Strains of this species are known coral pathogens; however, cultures were unable to consistently elicit tissue loss, suggesting an opportunistic role. Using an improved immunoassay, the VcpA RapidTest, a toxic zinc-metalloprotease produced by V. coralliilyticus was detected on 22.3% of diseased Montastraea cavernosa (n = 67) and 23.5% of diseased Orbicella faveolata (n = 24). VcpA+ corals had significantly higher mortality rates and faster disease progression. For VcpA– fragments, 21.6% and 33.3% of M. cavernosa and O. faveolata, respectively, died within 21 d of observation, while 100% of similarly sized VcpA+ fragments of both species died during the same period. Further physiological and genomic analysis found no apparent differences between the Atlantic V. coralliilyticus strains cultured here and pathogens from the Indo-Pacific but highlighted the diversity among strains and their immense genetic potential. In all, V. coralliilyticus may be causing coinfections that exacerbate existing SCTLD lesions, which could contribute to the intraspecific differences observed between colonies. This study describes potential coinfections contributing to SCTLD virulence as well as diagnostic tools capable of tracking the pathogen involved, which are important contributions to the management and understanding of SCTLD.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.569354/fullstony coral tissue loss diseaseVibrio coralliilyticuscoral diseasecoral coinfectionsimmunoassaydigital droplet PCR |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Blake Ushijima Julie L. Meyer Sharon Thompson Kelly Pitts Michael F. Marusich Jessica Tittl Elizabeth Weatherup Jacqueline Reu Raquel Wetzell Greta S. Aeby Claudia C. Häse Valerie J. Paul |
spellingShingle |
Blake Ushijima Julie L. Meyer Sharon Thompson Kelly Pitts Michael F. Marusich Jessica Tittl Elizabeth Weatherup Jacqueline Reu Raquel Wetzell Greta S. Aeby Claudia C. Häse Valerie J. Paul Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida Frontiers in Microbiology stony coral tissue loss disease Vibrio coralliilyticus coral disease coral coinfections immunoassay digital droplet PCR |
author_facet |
Blake Ushijima Julie L. Meyer Sharon Thompson Kelly Pitts Michael F. Marusich Jessica Tittl Elizabeth Weatherup Jacqueline Reu Raquel Wetzell Greta S. Aeby Claudia C. Häse Valerie J. Paul |
author_sort |
Blake Ushijima |
title |
Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida |
title_short |
Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida |
title_full |
Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida |
title_fullStr |
Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida |
title_full_unstemmed |
Disease Diagnostics and Potential Coinfections by Vibrio coralliilyticus During an Ongoing Coral Disease Outbreak in Florida |
title_sort |
disease diagnostics and potential coinfections by vibrio coralliilyticus during an ongoing coral disease outbreak in florida |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
issn |
1664-302X |
publishDate |
2020-10-01 |
description |
A deadly coral disease outbreak has been devastating the Florida Reef Tract since 2014. This disease, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), affects at least 22 coral species causing the progressive destruction of tissue. The etiological agents responsible for SCTLD are unidentified, but pathogenic bacteria are suspected. Virulence screens of 400 isolates identified four potentially pathogenic strains of Vibrio spp. subsequently identified as V. coralliilyticus. Strains of this species are known coral pathogens; however, cultures were unable to consistently elicit tissue loss, suggesting an opportunistic role. Using an improved immunoassay, the VcpA RapidTest, a toxic zinc-metalloprotease produced by V. coralliilyticus was detected on 22.3% of diseased Montastraea cavernosa (n = 67) and 23.5% of diseased Orbicella faveolata (n = 24). VcpA+ corals had significantly higher mortality rates and faster disease progression. For VcpA– fragments, 21.6% and 33.3% of M. cavernosa and O. faveolata, respectively, died within 21 d of observation, while 100% of similarly sized VcpA+ fragments of both species died during the same period. Further physiological and genomic analysis found no apparent differences between the Atlantic V. coralliilyticus strains cultured here and pathogens from the Indo-Pacific but highlighted the diversity among strains and their immense genetic potential. In all, V. coralliilyticus may be causing coinfections that exacerbate existing SCTLD lesions, which could contribute to the intraspecific differences observed between colonies. This study describes potential coinfections contributing to SCTLD virulence as well as diagnostic tools capable of tracking the pathogen involved, which are important contributions to the management and understanding of SCTLD. |
topic |
stony coral tissue loss disease Vibrio coralliilyticus coral disease coral coinfections immunoassay digital droplet PCR |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.569354/full |
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