Scientists identify bacterium behind devastating wasting disease in starfish | Marine life

Ten years after the beginning of the epidemic of a Waistern Star (SSWD), the largest documented in the wild nature, described the microbial criminal as responsible: a tension of the bacteria Vibrio Pectenicida.

In 10 years, bacteria sunflower destroyed the sea stars (Pycnopodia Helanthoides), On the west coast of North America, a large starfish with loss of 5.8 billion since 2013 or 90% of the total global population. Sunflower Sea Star is on the List of Red Red Critical Danger of Types of the International Union of International Nature.

Previous studies tested V pectane He gave inconvenient results in tissue samples. Instead, by examining the coelomic fluid of the marine stars moving like blood, the researchers were able to confirm them. V pectaneThe role of causing SSWD due to its high abundance.

Infection with V pectane The FHCF-3 confront starts with external lesions, causes limb loss and bending, and ultimately kills touched individuals by melting their tissues into a white, mucus-like paste. It was impossible to identify the disease without a known pathogen, as sea stars could respond to other stress factors such as low oxygen, salinity variation and excessive heat. The indirect connection between rising ocean temperatures and SSWD continues to be an important area of interest. V pectane It is known that it increases in warm water during seasonal variations and abnormal sea heating.

Research, Posted this week In the Nature Ecology & Evolution magazine, British Columbia, Dr. Melanie Prendice and Dr Alyssa Gehman of the Haka Institute in Canada, the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington and other parties as part of a four -year international cooperation with nature protection.

The fall of sunflower marine stars has consequences beyond the loss of a single species for sea ecosystems. “SSWD to determine the cause of SSWD is incredibly effective,” he said. “In the absence of sunflower stars, [kelp-eating] Sea chestnut populations increase, ie means loss of algae forests, which has wide effects for all other sea species and humans. “

Kelp forests provide a living space for thousands of marine creatures, support local economies through fishing and recreation, and culturally important for the first nations and tribal communities. They also stabilize the sediments, protect the coastline from storms, and are an important carbon sink for secting carbon dioxide.

Although the epidemic still continues, hope is that this breakthrough will help heal and treatment efforts for ecosystems that are affected by various starfish species and decreases in the world. Methods discovered include the development of probiotic solutions that can be added to captive reproductive and ecosystems for resistant individuals.

“Now that we find the causal agent of the disease, he hopes that we can do something for sunflower marine stars, Geh says Gehman. “We can really target how we work with them, and I think it will help us move much faster and try to fight SSWD.”