Effect of sunlight and salinity on the survival of pathogenic and non‐pathogenic strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in water microcosms

Abstract

The effect of sunlight and salinities (10, 20, 39, and 60 psu) on the survival of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains carrying either (thermostable direct hemolysin) tdh, the (thermostable related hemolysin) trh, and both or none of them were studied in water microcosms stabilized at 20 C using plate count agar and acridine orange direct viable count. All V. parahaemolyticus strains exposed to sunlight rapidly lose their culturability and evolve into a viable but non-culturable state (VBNC). However, the tdh positive strains remain more culturable than the non-virulent or trh positive strain but statically insignificant. At tested salinities, the survival time was higher at 10, 20, and 60 psu compared with that observed in seawater (39 psu). In seawater under dark condition, Vibrio strains remain culturable for up to 200 days with a significant difference between strains (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the non-pathogenic strain survives longer than the virulent ones. At different salinities, a better adaptation is observed at 10 and 20 psu compared with 39 and 60 psu. Resuscitations essays performed on VBNC bacteria in a nutrient broth at 20 C and 37 C does not show any revivification. Practitioner Points• Effect of sunlight and salinities on the survival of V. parahaemolyticus in the marine environment.• Resuscitation essay performed on viable but no cultivable bacteria.• Microscope motility examines show that all strains exposed to sunlight remain motile after the loss of cultivability.

Nested Spatial and Temporal Modeling of Environmental Conditions Associated With Genetic Markers of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Washington State Pacific Oysters

“…The EFS variable did not account for weather patterns as it was prohibitively difficult to retrieve and summarize cloud cover data for the entire study area across all sampled summers. However, the modifying effect of solar radiation on oyster surfacing time likely plays an important role in V. parahaemolyticus growth in oyster tissue ( USFDA, 2005 ; Sami et al, 2022 ). Accounting for weather patterns in future analyses may alter the null association observed with EFS.…”