Collaborative Research: Identifying Environmental Determinants Favorable for the Presence and Transmission of Pathogenic Vibrios

提案号EF-0813285“合作研究：确定有利于致病性弧菌存在和传播的环境决定因素”被科学家归类为弧菌的细菌在海洋中非常常见，有些能够引起人类疾病。疾病的三个主要原因是霍乱弧菌、副溶血性弧菌和创伤弧菌。霍乱和所谓的非霍乱疾病或弧菌是向疾病控制和预防中心报告的。这三种弧菌都能引起肠胃炎和伤口感染，在美国最常见的病原体是副溶血性弧菌，而最致命的是创伤弧菌。人们对决定这些弧菌在自然环境中的丰度和分布的环境因素知之甚少，这些弧菌是由于游泳或食用未煮熟的海鲜而与人类接触的。本研究将使用现代分子生物学和化学海洋学的工具来确定弧菌丰度和分布的环境驱动因素。具体来说，该项目将在三个生态和地理上不同的地点测量水中、底部沉积物和牡蛎中的弧菌水平。切萨皮克湾，墨西哥湾和普吉特海湾。这些数据将与浮游生物密度和以下环境决定因素相关：海面温度、叶绿素、浊度、盐度、溶解有机碳、初级生产力、颗粒有机碳和氮、溶解无机营养物质和悬浮颗粒物质。通过将现场测量与遥感图像联系起来，在无法进行实时环境采样的情况下，可以更准确地描述这些关系。此外，该项目将举办一年一度的暑期研究所，每年在实验室环境中培训八名高中生。预计这项研究将导致对影响弧菌丰度和分布的环境决定因素的更准确描述。

Crystal N. JohnsonProposal number EF-0813285"COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Identifying Environmental Determinants Favorable for the Presence and Transmission of Pathogenic Vibrios"Bacteria classified by scientists as Vibrio are very common in the ocean and some are capable of causing disease in humans. The three major causes of disease are Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus. Cholera and the so-called non-cholera diseases or vibrioses are reportable to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All three of these vibrios cause gastroenteritis and wound infections, and in the U.S. the most common agent of disease is V. parahaemolyticus whereas the most lethal is V. vulnificus. Very little is known about the environmental factors that determine the abundance and distribution of these vibrios in their natural environments where they come in contact with humans as a result of swimming or eating undercooked seafood. This research will use the tools of modern molecular biology and chemical oceanography to determine the environmental drivers of vibrio abundance and distribution. Specifically, this project will measure vibrio levels in water, bottom sediment, and oysters in three ecologically and geographically distinct locations ? Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico and Puget Sound. These data will be correlated with plankton densities and with the following environmental determinants: sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, turbidity, salinity, dissolved organic carbon, primary productivity, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, dissolved inorganic nutrients, and suspended particulate matter. By linking the in situ measurements with remote sensing imagery, it will be possible to more accurately describe these relationships when real-time environmental sampling is not possible. In addition, this project will host an annual Summer Research Institute to train eight high school students per year in laboratory settings. It is expected that this research will result in a more accurate description of the environmental determinants that influence vibrio abundance and distribution.