Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary

The Vibrionaceae are found in most estuaries world-wide. Warming oceans have enabled the opportunistic pathogens, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, to occupy an increasing range of environments for longer periods of the year in temperate climate zones. However, little is known about their e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: David Simma, Anna Padovan, Mirjam Kaestli, Karen Gibb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:The Microbe
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950194625000792
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850208037873123328
author David Simma
Anna Padovan
Mirjam Kaestli
Karen Gibb
author_facet David Simma
Anna Padovan
Mirjam Kaestli
Karen Gibb
author_sort David Simma
collection DOAJ
description The Vibrionaceae are found in most estuaries world-wide. Warming oceans have enabled the opportunistic pathogens, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, to occupy an increasing range of environments for longer periods of the year in temperate climate zones. However, little is known about their ecology in tropical regions. We studied spatio-temporal patterns and environmental drivers of abundance in V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in the monsoon tropics in water, sediment and the edible mangrove snail Telescopium telescopium. V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus were more abundant during the wet season in three macro-tidal creek locations and all sample types, and this increase in abundance was associated with temperature. Interestingly, the abundance of V. parahaemolyticus in the sediment-grazing snail T. telescopium was correlated to V. parahaemolyticus concentrations in sediment rather than water. V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus abundance were highest during a monsoonal rain event and some of these samples were positive for V. parahaemolyticus virulence genes. Our results suggest that the wet season, and in particular, times of extreme weather events when environmental conditions change rapidly, are potentially periods of high risk for vibriosis in tropical Australia, an area which is predicted to experience more frequent severe weather events. This work also expands our current understanding of the factors driving the abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in tropical estuaries.
format Article
id doaj-art-4a14ebe3ac0f47faaed34f55d4819af8
institution OA Journals
issn 2950-1946
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series The Microbe
spelling doaj-art-4a14ebe3ac0f47faaed34f55d4819af82025-08-20T02:10:20ZengElsevierThe Microbe2950-19462025-06-01710031110.1016/j.microb.2025.100311Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuaryDavid Simma0Anna Padovan1Mirjam Kaestli2Karen Gibb3Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, AustraliaResearch Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, AustraliaResearch Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, AustraliaCorresponding author.; Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, AustraliaThe Vibrionaceae are found in most estuaries world-wide. Warming oceans have enabled the opportunistic pathogens, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, to occupy an increasing range of environments for longer periods of the year in temperate climate zones. However, little is known about their ecology in tropical regions. We studied spatio-temporal patterns and environmental drivers of abundance in V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in the monsoon tropics in water, sediment and the edible mangrove snail Telescopium telescopium. V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus were more abundant during the wet season in three macro-tidal creek locations and all sample types, and this increase in abundance was associated with temperature. Interestingly, the abundance of V. parahaemolyticus in the sediment-grazing snail T. telescopium was correlated to V. parahaemolyticus concentrations in sediment rather than water. V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus abundance were highest during a monsoonal rain event and some of these samples were positive for V. parahaemolyticus virulence genes. Our results suggest that the wet season, and in particular, times of extreme weather events when environmental conditions change rapidly, are potentially periods of high risk for vibriosis in tropical Australia, an area which is predicted to experience more frequent severe weather events. This work also expands our current understanding of the factors driving the abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in tropical estuaries.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950194625000792VibrioMonsoon tropicsEstuariesTelescopiumFood safetyRisk
spellingShingle David Simma
Anna Padovan
Mirjam Kaestli
Karen Gibb
Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
The Microbe
Vibrio
Monsoon tropics
Estuaries
Telescopium
Food safety
Risk
title Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
title_full Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
title_fullStr Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
title_full_unstemmed Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
title_short Wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in a tropical estuary
title_sort wet season and monsoon rain events are associated with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic vibrio spp in a tropical estuary
topic Vibrio
Monsoon tropics
Estuaries
Telescopium
Food safety
Risk
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950194625000792
work_keys_str_mv AT davidsimma wetseasonandmonsoonraineventsareassociatedwithincreasedabundanceofpotentiallypathogenicvibriosppinatropicalestuary
AT annapadovan wetseasonandmonsoonraineventsareassociatedwithincreasedabundanceofpotentiallypathogenicvibriosppinatropicalestuary
AT mirjamkaestli wetseasonandmonsoonraineventsareassociatedwithincreasedabundanceofpotentiallypathogenicvibriosppinatropicalestuary
AT karengibb wetseasonandmonsoonraineventsareassociatedwithincreasedabundanceofpotentiallypathogenicvibriosppinatropicalestuary