A deep‐sea bacterium related to coastal marine pathogens

Abstract

Evolution of virulence traits from adaptation to environmental niches other than the host is probably a common feature of marine microbial pathogens, whose knowledge might be crucial to understand their emergence and pathogenetic potential. Here, we report genome sequence analysis of a novel marine bacterial species, Vibrio bathopelagicus sp. nov., isolated from warm bathypelagic waters (3309 m depth) of the Mediterranean Sea. Interestingly, V. bathopelagicus sp. nov. is closely related to coastal Vibrio strains pathogenic to marine bivalves. V. bathopelagicus sp. nov. genome encodes genes involved in environmental adaptation to the deep-sea but also in virulence, such as the R5.7 element, MARTX toxin cluster, Type VI secretion system and zinc-metalloprotease, previously associated with Vibrio infections in farmed oysters. The results of functional in vitro assays on immunocytes (haemocytes) of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, and of the early larval development assay in Mytilus support strong toxicity of V. bathopelagicus sp. nov. towards bivalves. V. bathopelagicus sp. nov., isolated from a remote Mediterranean bathypelagic site, is an example of a planktonic marine bacterium with genotypic and phenotypic traits associated with animal pathogenicity, which might have played an evolutionary role in the origin of coastal marine pathogens.

Pan-Genome Provides Insights into Vibrio Evolution and Adaptation to Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

“…According to these features, studies investigating the biology of Vibrio spp. in hydrothermal vent settings may help to elucidate fundamental aspects concerning their origin, evolution and pathogenic potential ( Hasan et al 2015 ; Lasa et al 2021 ).…”

“…Mussels ( Mytilus galloprovincialis , La Spezia, Italy) and Oysters ( Crassostrea gigas , Bretagne, France) were purchased in autumn 2023 and acclimated for 24 h in static tanks containing aerated ASW, (35 ppt salinity for mussel and 31 ppt for oysters; 1 L/animal) at 18 °C. Bactericidal activity and LMS were determined in bivalve hemocyte monolayers as previously described ( Lasa et al 2021 ; Auguste et al 2022 ).…”

Agarose-Degrading Characteristics of a Deep-Sea Bacterium Vibrio Natriegens WPAGA4 and Its Cold-Adapted GH50 Agarase Aga3420

“…Microorganisms are crucial players in driving polysaccharide degradation, which participates in the carbon cycle of deep-sea environments. The genus Vibiro, such as V. diabolicus [25], V. profundi [26], V. bathopelagicus [27], and other species that remain unidentified [28,29], have been widely isolated in the deep sea. Of them, several strains were reported with polysaccharide-degrading activities.…”

Responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis to challenge with environmental isolates of the potential emerging pathogen Malaciobacter marinus

“…In the same experimental conditions, stronger effects were observed with different pathogenic vibrios, such as Vibrio coralliilyticus [23], V. tasmaniensis LGP32, V. bathopelagicus sp. nov. [30].…”