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The physiological response of Vibrio alginolyticus to iron
Citation:
Norfolk, W., W. Henderson, AND D. Glinski. The physiological response of Vibrio alginolyticus to iron. 2023 UGA Environmental Health Science Student Research Symposium, Athens, GA, March 03, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Results show that V. alginolyticus has a broad temperature and salinity tolerance, producing viable growth at 24-40 oC and 1-7% (w/v) NaCl with optimal growth at 35±2 oC and 2-4%. Nutrient evaluations demonstrate the importance of iron as a limiting factor for V. alginolyticus where growth was hindered at concentrations ≥1 µM. Comparison of iron replete (4 µM) and iron deficient (~0 µM) media showed a 15.9-fold increase in the level of culturable V. alginolyticus under replete conditions. This importance was supported by metabolomics where replete samples showed increased abundance of metabolites associated with key metabolic pathways namely, amino acid, carbohydrate, lipid, and nucleotide metabolism. Combined, these data demonstrate the impacts of three critical abiotic determinants of V. alginolyticus populations and highlights the importance of iron availability as a key nutrient for the stimulation of V. alginolyticus metabolism.
Description:
Indigenous microorganisms, or species that exist as a part of the natural microbial community, are inherently dictated by the environmental parameters of the ecosystem. Understanding the response of these microbes is critical for the estimation of their populations and the assessment of risk for pathogenic species. Here we evaluate the effects of changing temperature, salinity, and iron conditions on the growth response of the indigenous opportunistic pathogen Vibrio alginolyticus. Response was assessed using a combination of growth kinetics evaluation and gas chromatography mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to determine the optimal and tolerable range of V. alginolyticus growth under each condition and to characterize the metabolic effects of iron deprivation and supplementation, respectively.