Novel bacterium infecting an African snail

The internal colony-forming bacterial flora of the schistosome intermediate host snailBiomphalaria glabrata (Say) has been characterized in ca. 500 individual snails from Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia, and from laboratory aquaria. Freshly captured wild snails harbor 2-40×10(6) CFU·g(-1), and healthy aquarium snails harbor 4-16×10(7) CFU·g(-1), whereas moribund individuals have 4-10 times as many bacteria as healthy individuals from the same habitats.Pseudomonas spp. are the most common predominant bacteria in normal snails, whereasAcinetobacter, Aeromonas, andMoraxella spp. predominate in moribund snails. External bacterial populations in water appear to have little effect on the composition and size of the flora in any snail. In addition to normal (healthy) and moribund snails, a third group of snails has been distinguished on the basis of internal bacterial density and predominating genera. These "high-density" snails may have undergone stresses and may harbor opportunistic pathogens. The microfloras of wild and laboratory-reared snails can be altered and stimulated to increase in density by crowding the snails or treating them with antibiotics.

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Biological methods for the control of freshwater snails

Madsen¹

1990

Parasitology Today

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Novel bacterium infecting an African snail

Abstract: palladium at an angle of 45°. Examination and photography were done with a Hitachi electron micro-950 on August 1, 2020 by guest

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

Prokaryote Diversity

Prokaryote Diversity

Ecology of bacterial communities in the schistosomiasis vector snailBiomphalaria glabrata

Biological methods for the control of freshwater snails

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