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Dynamics of Bacterial and Vibrio Communities in Blacklip Rock Oysters in the Seasonal Tropics
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Dynamics of Bacterial and Vibrio Communities in Blacklip Rock Oysters in the Seasonal Tropics

Z. Tinning, M. Kaestli, S. J. Nowland, N. Siboni, J. R. Seymour, K. S. Gibb and A. C. Padovan
Microbial Ecology, Vol.88, pp.1-14
2025
PMID: 41249638
pdf
s00248-025-02599-w1.51 MBDownloadView
Published VersionCC BY V4.0 Open Access
url
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-025-02599-wView
Published VersionCC BY V4.0 Open

Abstract

Saccostrea spathulata Tropical oyster Host-microbiome Vibrio Seasonal tropics
Cultivation of the tropical Blacklip Rock Oyster (BRO) (Saccostrea spathulata) is an emerging Indigenous-led aquaculture industry in the seasonal tropics of northern Australia. However, little is currently known about the potential for pathogen outbreaks in this species. We conducted a year-long study to establish a microbial baseline to identify potential oyster and human health risks to inform future food safety decision making in this nascent industry. In healthy oysters, we identified both the core microbiome of this oyster species and the presence of potential oyster and human pathogens. The core bacteriome comprised nine bacterial families, while the core vibriome comprised the animal pathogens Vibrio harveyi and V. owensii. The potential human pathogen V. parahaemolyticus was detected in some oysters during the wet season, during periods of increased rainfall, turbidity and total nitrogen. The bacteriome and vibriome of oysters were significantly different to the adjacent seawater and therefore we concluded that seawater is not an appropriate surrogate for pathogen risk surveillance in this developing industry. These results provide new knowledge on the microbiology of a previously understudied oyster species and will inform monitoring methods, harvesting and shellfish quality compliance in this emerging Indigenous-led industry.

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Ecology
Marine & Freshwater Biology
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