Characterization of phenotype variations of luminescent and non‐luminescent variants of Vibrio harveyi wild type and quorum sensing mutants |
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| Authors: | N T X Hong K Baruah D Vanrompay P Bossier |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent 9000, Belgium;2. Faculty of Aquaculture, Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue City, Vietnam;3. Laboratory of Immunology and Animal Biotechnology, Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Vibrio harveyi, a luminescent Gram‐negative motile marine bacterium, is an important pathogen responsible for causing severe diseases in shrimp, finfish and molluscs leading to severe economic losses. Non‐luminescent V. harveyi obtained by culturing luminescent strains under static and dark condition were reported to alter the levels of virulence factors and metalloprotease gene and luxR expression when compared to their luminescent variants. Presently, we conducted an in vitro study aiming at the characterization of virulence‐related phenotypic traits of the wild‐type V. harveyi BB120 strain and its isogenic quorum sensing mutants before and after switching to the non‐luminescent status. We measured the production of caseinase, haemolysin and elastase and examined swimming motility and biofilm formation. Our results showed that switching from the bioluminescent to the non‐luminescent state changed the phenotypic physiology or behaviour of V. harveyi resulting in alterations in caseinase and haemolytic activities, swimming motility and biofilm formation. The switching capacity was to a large extent independent from the quorum sensing status, in that quorum sensing mutants were equally capable of making the phenotypic switch. |
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| Keywords: | luminescent non‐luminescent phenotype switch
Vibrio harveyi
virulence factor |
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