Open AccessThe etiology of white pox, a lethal disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
Author(s) -
Kathryn L. Patterson,
James W. Porter,
Kim B. Ritchie,
Shawn W. Polson,
Erich Mueller,
Esther C. Peters,
Deborah L. Santavy,
Garriet W. Smith
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.092260099
Subject(s) - acropora , serratia marcescens , biology , coral , white (mutation) , ecology , coral reef , zoology , pathogen , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , escherichia coli , gene
Populations of the shallow-water Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, are being decimated by white pox disease, with losses of living cover in the Florida Keys typically in excess of 70%. The rate of tissue loss is rapid, averaging 2.5 cm2 x day(-1), and is greatest during periods of seasonally elevated temperature. In Florida, the spread of white pox fits the contagion model, with nearest neighbors most susceptible to infection. In this report, we identify a common fecal enterobacterium, Serratia marcescens, as the causal agent of white pox. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a bacterial species associated with the human gut has been shown to be a marine invertebrate pathogen.