Microbe Profile: Vibrio pectenicida: the deadly marine bacteria with strains impacting sea stars and scallops.

Vibrio pectenicida is a marine Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that exists in coastal waters. First described in 1998, these bacteria are associated with deadly disease outbreaks including sea star wasting disease (SSWD) and high mortality in larval scallops in hatcheries. Multiple strain types exist, and V. pectenicida A365 is associated with mortality in scallop larvae due to vibrio haemocyte-killer toxin. V. pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is associated with SSWD which causes sea stars to 'melt' to death. Current research efforts focus on isolating potential new strains to determine if they are causing disease and how this bacterium may influence other marine invertebrates.