Persistence of vibrios in marine bivalves: the role of interactions with haemolymph components

Summary Marine bivalves are widespread in coastal environments and, due to their filter‐feeding habit, they can accumulate large numbers of bacteria thus acting as passive carriers of human pathogens. Bivalves possess both humoral and cellular defence mechanisms that operate in a co‐ordinated way to kill and eliminate infecting bacteria. Vibrio species are very abundant in coastal waters and are commonly isolated from edible bivalves tissues where they can persist after depuration processes in controlled waters. Such observations indicate that vibrios are regular components of bivalve microflora and that the molluscs can represent an important ecological niche for these bacteria. Here we tried to summarize data on the interactions between vibrios and bivalve haemolymph; the available evidence supports the hypothesis that persistence of bacteria in bivalve tissues depends, at least in part, on their sensitivity to the bactericidal activity of the haemolymph. Results obtained with an in vitro model of Vibrio cholerae challenged against Mytilus galloprovincialis haemocytes indicate that bacterial surface components, soluble haemolymph factors and the signalling pathways of the haemocyte host are involved in determining the result of vibrio–haemolymph interactions.