The “clumps” of seaweed twice the width of the United States that trickle across the Caribbean and deliver copious amounts of algae to Florida’s beaches are also carrying unwelcome tourists: disease-causing bacteria. And the plastic debris we wash into the ocean could be exacerbating the situation.
The bacterium belongs to a genus called vibrio, contains more than 100 species. About a dozen of these can harm humans, usually by ingesting them by infecting wounds or causing food poisoning. In a new study published May 3 in the journal water researchscientists analyzed the genome of vibrio It was found in a sample of plastic fragments, Hondawara, a brown seaweed caught in the Caribbean and Sargasso Seas of the North Atlantic. Their goal was to figure out whether rafting species could cause disease in humans.
“It’s actually very difficult to prove that something is a pathogen,” says Linda A. Amaral, a marine microbiologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Marine Research and one of the paper’s first authors. Mr Zetler says “But in effect, we have shown that the genome itself contains all the components of the pathogen.”
It’s an important new step, says marine biologist Valerie Michoti of France’s University of Aix-Marseille, who was not involved in the new study. “Previous studies have vibrio, But it hasn’t been analyzed for pathogenicity,” she says.
The most dangerous species are vibrio that is cholera bacteria, It causes the diarrheal disease cholera, V. Barnificus, is often referred to as a “flesh-eating bacterium” because when it infects an open wound, it can sometimes cause fatal damage. Amaral-Zettler and his colleagues did not find any of these species in the samples they studied. Instead, they found four other known species of him. V. alginolyticus, V. Camberley, V. Fortis and vibrio parahaemolyticus.
Bacteria can exchange genes and are highly genetically diverse, so identifying a species is critical in determining how dangerous that bacterium is to humans, and what genes are present in its DNA. It’s not as helpful as finding out if Researchers found a gene for a protein in every sample they analyzed. V. Barnificus It is used to attach to human intestinal cells and genes that produce compounds that destroy red blood cells. Genes that produce toxins that weaken the connections between cells in the gut’s lining were also found in many samples, all evidence that bacteria can harm humans.
“I believe this is one of the first studies of this species to be able to compile a genome from environmental samples of this species,” says microbiologist Craig Baker Austin of the UK Center for Environmental Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences. says. He is not involved in research.
The researchers also conducted clinical tests and found that most vibrio It was found in samples that adhered very well to plastic and could destroy open blood cells in sheep, a clear sign of potential pathogenicity. “They combined genetic and biochemical approaches, which enhanced the results,” says Michoti. But she points out that researchers don’t know how fast pathogenic bacteria develop on plastic debris or on plastic debris. sargassum, This would be an important step in understanding how big the health risks are. vibrio Represents bacteria.
Still, Amaral Zetler says the new research is conclusive enough to be “a bit of a wake-up call” about the complex relationships between people. vibrio, Hondawara and human.nevertheless Hondawara It creates a natural ecosystem that helps sustain fish, sea turtles, and other animals in the open ocean, but within the last decade it has begun to regularly form massive blooms that wash up on shore. Scientists say some of the nutrients in these blooms come from nutrients that run into the ocean from manure and other sources. Human beings are also responsible for the recent flood of plastic marine debris. vibrio Scientists show that increased scaffolding and warmer water create a favorable environment for bacteria to thrive.
Despite all this, because vibrio Although they are naturally occurring marine bacteria, they can inadvertently pose a threat to humans. “It’s not that their entire evolutionary mission is to be pathogenic to humans. Humans are like inadvertent intruders into the pathways of these organisms,” says the study. says Rita R. Colwell, a microbiologist at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the disease. Still, Colwell says the new research adds to the evidence that humans are exposed to the virus. vibrio People have more to deal with.
For beachgoers, bacteria is a reason to stay away from the beach. Hondawara That could add up in the coming months. “In general, it’s not a good idea to walk around the beach if you have a sore,” says Amaral Zetler.
