Vibrio kanaloae
Vibrio kanaloae is a species of curved, motile, moderately halophilic and Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Vibrionaceae. It was originally isolated from Hawaiian and Mexican seawater as well as marine animals and was described as a new species in 2003.
Etymology
The specific epithet kanaloae honours Kanaloa, the Hawaiian deity of the ocean, reflecting both the marine habitat of the bacterium and the site of its first isolation.
Taxonomy and characteristics
The species is placed in the class Gammaproteobacteria and the order Vibrionales. Cells are oxidase-positive, facultatively anaerobic rods that grow best at 25–30 °C in 2–3 % NaCl and form smooth, cream-coloured colonies on marine agar. Polar flagella provide rapid swimming motility.
Pathogenicity
Immersion-challenge experiments have shown that strain SbA1-1 can cause high mortality in the ark clam Scapharca broughtonii, producing typical vibriosis lesions in gill and hepatopancreas tissues at water temperatures ≤ 15 °C. Comparative genomic analyses support its role as an opportunistic pathogen of bivalve larvae and juveniles.