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Elevated resource availability sufficient to turn opportunistic into virulent fish pathogens
C Wedekind1, M O Gessner, F Vazquez
1Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. claus.wedekind@unil.ch
Ecology
|May 28, 2010
Summary
Increased aquatic resources can make normally harmless microbes dangerous to fish embryos. This direct link between resource availability and disease risk highlights how environmental changes can create virulent pathogens.
Area of Science:
- Aquatic microbiology
- Environmental toxicology
- Fish disease ecology
Background:
- Aquatic environment enrichment is linked to increased infectious disease risk.
- Opportunistic pathogens are often associated with host stress and environmental changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the direct link between microbial resource availability and fish embryo infection.
- To determine if increased resources can transform benign microbes into virulent pathogens.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of resource levels in aquatic environments.
- Exposure of fish embryos to altered microbial communities.
- Assessment of embryo health and infection rates.
- Application of antibiotics and fungicides to test microbial influence.
Main Results:
- Increased resource availability directly increased fish embryo infection.
- Benign microbial communities became virulent with higher resource levels.
- Detrimental effects were mitigated by antibiotic and fungicide treatments, indicating microbial causation.
- Embryo harm occurred prior to other potential stressors like oxygen depletion.
Conclusions:
- Resource availability can directly transform symbiotic microbes into virulent pathogens.
- Environmental changes, not just host susceptibility, can drive disease outbreaks.
- Simple microhabitat alterations can shift microbial communities towards pathogenicity.
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