COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Identifying Environmental Determinants Favorable for the Presence and Transmission of Pathogenic Vibrios

被科学家归类为弧菌的细菌在海洋中非常常见，其中一些能够引起人类疾病。 霍乱弧菌、副溶血性弧菌和创伤弧菌是三种主要致病菌。 霍乱和所谓的非霍乱疾病或弧菌病可向疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）报告。 所有这三种弧菌都会引起胃肠炎和伤口感染，在美国，最常见的致病菌是副溶血性弧菌，而最致命的是创伤弧菌。 人们对环境因素知之甚少，这些环境因素决定了这些弧菌在自然环境中的丰度和分布，在自然环境中，它们与人类接触是游泳或食用未煮熟的海鲜的结果。 这项研究将利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，这个项目将测量弧菌水平的水，底沉积物，牡蛎在三个生态和地理不同的位置？切萨皮克湾、墨西哥湾和普吉特湾。 这些数据将与浮游生物密度和下列环境决定因素相关联：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、溶解无机营养物和悬浮颗粒物。 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取样的情况下，将有可能更准确地描述这些关系。 此外，该项目还将举办一年一度的暑期研究所，每年在实验室环境中培训8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。

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.