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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Cntr » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #357445
Research Project: Developing Nutritional, Genetic, and Management Strategies to Enhance Warmwater Finfish Production

Location: Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Cntr

Title: Fish mucus alters the Flavobacterium columnare biofilm transcriptome

Author
item Lange, Miles
item Farmer, Bradley
item Abernathy, Jason

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/26/2018
Publication Date: 11/27/2018
Citation: Lange, M.D., Farmer, B.D., Abernathy, J.W. 2018. Fish mucus alters the Flavobacterium columnare biofilm transcriptome [abstract]. Meeting Abstract, 5th International Conference on members of the genus Flavobacterium, November 27-29, 2018, Nara, Japan. p. 41.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Columnaris disease is caused by Flavobacterium columnare and severely impacts the production of freshwater finfish species. Therefore, efforts to better understand F. columnare biological processes, including the contribution of biofilm formation to disease, are ongoing. Our objective was to determine how catfish mucus affects the development of F. columnare biofilms. We first demonstrate that catfish mucus stimulates in vitro biofilm formation among different Genomovar II F. columnare isolates. Global changes in planktonic and biofilm gene expression were then evaluated using high-throughput RNA sequencing. The analysis of F. columnare transcriptomes after the addition of mucus revealed significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the planktonic and biofilm states. DEGs common among biofilms were enriched for gene ontology groups including signal transduction, ligand binding and cellular homeostasis and are likely necessary for biofilm formation. Iron acquisition systems included TonB dependent receptor and ferroxidase genes were expressed among all biofilms, while siderophore synthesis genes were only expressed in mucus-stimulated biofilms. The current analysis of F. columnare transcriptomes adds valuable information about the basic biological processes that occur during the planktonic and biofilm states. These results add valuable information into the physiological processes behind the planktonic-to-biofilm states. This work serves as a basis for future studies on understanding how biofilms are established and how they contribute to disease progression.