A novel phage vB_VhaM_HVS-1 inhibits host cell associated Vibrio harveyi

Vibrio harveyi is a major pathogen causing skin ulceration syndrome and mass mortality in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus aquaculture.

In this study, a pathogenic strain NB-3 was isolated from diseased A. japonicus and identified as V. harveyi based on morphological, physiological, and genomic analyses. A novel lytic phage vB_VhaM_HVS-1 belonging to the family Straboviridae (class Caudoviricetes) was isolated from A. japonicus breeding pond silt.

The phage exhibited a latent period of 50 min and a burst size of approximately 168 PFU/cell, and its genome lacked lysogeny-related genes, suggesting a lytic nature. Phage treatment significantly reduced the number of cell-associated bacteria, decreasing the association rate from 2.3% to nearly 0. Flow cytometry revealed that phage infection protected coelomocytes from V. harveyi-induced damage, increasing the proportion of viable cells from 78.17% to 88.54%.

These findings demonstrate that phage vB_VhaM_HVS-1 effectively reduces V. harveyi association with coelomocytes and alleviates host cell apoptosis. The phage shows strong potential as an alternative biocontrol agent against V. harveyi infection in sea cucumber aquaculture.