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Thesis
Ecological dynamics of vibrio vulnificus and vibrio parahaemolyticus
University of West Florida,
Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida
2021
Abstract
With the rising threat of anthropogenic climate change, human pathogens Vibrio vulnificus (Vv) and parahaemolyticus (Vp) may become more problematic to world health. The aims of this study were to i) report baseline Vv and Vp abundances, ii) develop new oligonucleotide primer sets for detection of Vv and Vp pathogens, and iii) explore interactions with other waterborne nuisances. We sampled surface waters, sediments, and invertebrate biofilms from 43 locations in two estuarine systems over seven dates in winter 2020. Culturable Vv was present in most water and sediment samples, but Vp only in about half of the surface waters. Surface Vv covaried with bottom water pH and tidal coefficient. Vp surface concentrations correlated negatively with surface salinity, and positively with total surface nitrogen. Both species correlated with wind, suggesting resuspension was important. These regionally-novel winter baseline Vibrio abundances will aid in predicting risk factors in each waterbody of interest. In-house databases were constructed to design better primer pairs for virulence genes. End-point PCR was used to verify new trh and tdh primers for more accurate detection of Vv and Vp type strains. A novel Vv tdh gene pair showed promise, whereas the vvhA pair was no better than published primers. These in silico and preliminary end-point PCR data will inform future efforts in quantifying Vibrio with quantitative PCR. Finally, an exploratory study showed that Karenia brevis (Kb), a toxic dinoflagellate rampant in southwest Florida waterways, inhibited Vv growth by 150-fold, and Kb had little to no effect on Vp growth.
Details
- Title
- Ecological dynamics of vibrio vulnificus and vibrio parahaemolyticus
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida,; [Pensacola, Florida] :
- Format
- text;electronic resource;remote;computer;online resource
- Number of pages
- 1 online resource (ix, 106 : illustrations, maps, charts )
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090852106600
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Science (MS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida