Open AccessPhage therapy treatment of the coral pathogen V ibrio coralliilyticus
Author(s) -
Cohen Yossi,
Joseph Pollock F.,
Rosenberg Eugene,
Bourne David G.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
microbiologyopen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.881
H-Index - 36
ISSN - 2045-8827
DOI - 10.1002/mbo3.52
Subject(s) - bacteriophage , phage therapy , pathogen , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , myoviridae , lytic cycle , outbreak , virology , marine bacteriophage , coral , virulence , virus , bacteria , ecology , escherichia coli , genetics , gene
V ibrio coralliilyticus is an important coral pathogen demonstrated to cause disease outbreaks worldwide. This study investigated the feasibility of applying bacteriophage therapy to treat the coral pathogen V . coralliilyticus . A specific bacteriophage for V . coralliilyticus strain P1 ( LMG23696 ), referred to here as bacteriophage YC , was isolated from the seawater above corals at N elly B ay, M agnetic I sland, central G reat B arrier R eef ( GBR ), the same location where the bacterium was first isolated. Bacteriophage YC was shown to be a lytic phage belonging to the M yoviridae family, with a rapid replication rate, high burst size, and high affinity to its host. By infecting its host bacterium, bacteriophage YC was able to prevent bacterial‐induced photosystem inhibition in pure cultures of S ymbiodinium , the photosymbiont partner of coral and a target for virulence factors produced by the bacterial pathogen. Phage therapy experiments using coral juveniles in microtiter plates as a model system revealed that bacteriophage YC was able to prevent V . coralliilyticus ‐induced photoinactivation and tissue lysis. These results demonstrate that bacteriophage YC has the potential to treat coral disease outbreaks caused by the bacterial pathogen V . coralliilyticus , making it a good candidate for phage therapy treatment of coral disease.