Meeting Abstract

P2.121  Friday, Jan. 4  Characterization of Vibrio Isolates from the Light Organs of Loliginid Squids from Thailand (Mollusca:Cephalopoda) GUERRERO-FERREIRA, R.C. *; GORMAN, C; NISHIGUCHI, M.K.; New Mexico State University ricardo@nmsu.edu

Luminescent bacteria in the family Vibrionaceae (Gamma-Proteobacteria) are known to colonize light organs of squid in the families Loliginidae and Sepiolidae. These bacteria are harbored in morphologically similar structures which presumably enable the squids to perform a behavior known as counterillumination. Two species of loliginid squids, Uroteuthis chinensis and Uroteuthis duvauceli were collected from the coasts of Phuket and Rayong, Thailand, and dissected to extract bacterial isolates from their light organs. Symbionts were cultured and a number of morphological, physiological, and biochemical analyses were completed to determine whether these strains were from the genus Vibrio. Assays included carbon utilization profiles, acid production, growth at various salinities and temperatures, sensitivity to 0/129 vibriostatic agent, and catalase activity. 16S rRNA amplification was also used to determine species level identification of each isolate. Our results provide evidence that all isolates identified were members of the family Vibrionaceae, and confirmed the species identity is Vibrio harveyi. This result is the first record of V. harveyi found in symbiosis with a marine mollusc, suggesting that species of the family Vibrionaceae are less restricted in their ecological niches than previously thought.