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Factors influencing bacterial production of inducers of settlement behavior of larvae of the oysterCrassostrea gigas

Microbial Ecology volume 17, pages 287–298 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

Dissolved chemical inducers of settlement behavior of veliger larvae of the oysterCrassostrea gigas are found in supernatants of both pigmented species of bacteria (Alteromonas colwelliana, Vibrio cholerae strain HTX) as well as nonpigmented bacteria (Excherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae strain 596-B). Usually less than 10% of veligers exhibited settlement behavior in response to supernatants from the early bacterial growth phases, whereas 30–90% of larvae responded when exposed to supernatant from late-log and stationary phase cultures. Percentages of larvae exhibiting settlement behavior were inversely correlated with oxygen levels in the culture. Furthermore, the behavioral response decreased with pigment formation, suggesting that quantities of noxious compounds such as quinones may build up in the supernatants of cultures of pigmented bacteria. Tyrosinase, an enzyme that converts L-tyrosine to L-DOPA in the first step of melanogenesis, was detected both in the bacterial pellet and the supernatant during growth of the pigmented species. The enzyme is not required for the production of settlement inducer as the nonpigmented speciesE. coli andV. cholerae (596-B) also released inducer into the supernatant and had no detectable tyrosinase. The data suggest either that there is more than one inducer of settlement behavior found in bacterial supernatants or that the inducer is not L-DOPA or an L-DOPA-mimetic associated with the melanin biochemical pathway.

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Author notes

  1. William K. Fitt

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia

Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, Maryland, USA

    William K. Fitt, Michael P. Labare, W. Claiborne Fuqua, Marianne Walch, Rita R. Colwell & Ronald M. Weiner

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, Maryland, USA

    William K. Fitt, Steven L. Coon & Dale B. Bonar

  3. Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Marianne Walch, Steven L. Coon, Dale B. Bonar, Rita R. Colwell & Ronald M. Weiner

Authors
  1. William K. Fitt
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  2. Michael P. Labare
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  3. W. Claiborne Fuqua
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  4. Marianne Walch
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  5. Steven L. Coon
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  6. Dale B. Bonar
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  7. Rita R. Colwell
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  8. Ronald M. Weiner
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Fitt, W.K., Labare, M.P., Fuqua, W.C. et al. Factors influencing bacterial production of inducers of settlement behavior of larvae of the oysterCrassostrea gigas . Microb Ecol 17, 287–298 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02012841

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02012841

Keywords

  • Quinone
  • Vibrio
  • Bacterial Production
  • Pigment Formation
  • Chemical Inducer