We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Visualization of coral host-pathogen interactions using a stable GFP-labeled Vibrio coralliilyticus strain.
- Authors
Pollock, F.; Krediet, Cory; Garren, Melissa; Stocker, Roman; Winn, Karina; Wilson, Bryan; Huete-Stauffer, Carla; Willis, Bette; Bourne, David
- Abstract
The bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus has been implicated as the causative agent of coral tissue loss diseases (collectively known as white syndromes) at sites across the Indo-Pacific and represents an emerging model pathogen for understanding the mechanisms linking bacterial infection and coral disease. In this study, we used a mini-Tn7 transposon delivery system to chromosomally label a strain of V. coralliilyticus isolated from a white syndrome disease lesion with a green fluorescent protein gene (GFP). We then tested the utility of this modified strain as a research tool for studies of coral host-pathogen interactions. A suite of biochemical assays and experimental infection trials in a range of model organisms confirmed that insertion of the GFP gene did not interfere with the labeled strain's virulence. Using epifluorescence video microscopy, the GFP-labeled strain could be reliably distinguished from non-labeled bacteria present in the coral holobiont, and the pathogen's interactions with the coral host could be visualized in real time. This study demonstrates that chromosomal GFP labeling is a useful technique for visualization and tracking of coral pathogens and provides a novel tool to investigate the role of V. coralliilyticus in coral disease pathogenesis.
- Subjects
VIBRIO; CORAL reef animals; CORAL reef organisms; GREEN fluorescent protein genetics; PROTEIN genetics; PHYSIOLOGY
- Publication
Coral Reefs, 2015, Vol 34, Issue 2, p655
- ISSN
0722-4028
- Publication type
Report
- DOI
10.1007/s00338-015-1273-3