Biochemical and pathogenic properties of the natural isolate of Shewanella algae from Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan

Pathogenic properties of the natural isolate of Shewanella algae from the coelomic fluid of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan) were investigated. The isolate had oxydative metabolism, was positive for ornithine decarboxylase, cytochrome oxidase, catalase, DNase and gelatinase, hemolytically active, did not produce acid from carbohydrates, and did not hydrolyze urea and esculin. The strain was resistant to penicillin, amoxicillin, and ampicillin and susceptible to tetracycline and carbenicillin. Among cellular fatty acids, 13:0-i, 15:0-i, 16:0, 16:1(n-7), 17:0-i, and 17:0-ai dominated. These biochemical properties made it possible to attribute the isolated bacteria to the genus Shewanella and identified as S. algae. The cells of this bacterium were introduced into the coelomic cavity of another echinoderm, the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus. As a result, in about 24 h the animals became slow and 3–8 days after the inoculation died. Dividing bacteria were being found during the experiment in the coelomic fluid as well as in the phagosomes of amoebocytes, i.e. cells acting as phagocytes in the coelomic fluid. The studies of the invasive properties of strain 156 showed that bacterial cells entered the subcuticular space of S. nudus and A. japonicus through the cuticle and stayed there for a long time without penetrating epithelium and exerting toxic effect upon the organisms of the laboratory animals. Pathogenic effect of S. algae can be manifested only if the cutaneous epithelium is destroyed permitting it to penetrate the lower tissue layers. The toxicity of S. algae is confirmed by in vitro experiments. The inoculation of the embryonic cells of S. nudus with samples of this bacterium caused the death of 10% of cells within an hour and 100% of cells within 12 h after inoculation. The results of the investigations demonstrate that S. algae could produce opportunistic infection in the sea cucumber A. japonicus and the sea urchin S. nudus, which may be natural reservoirs of this human pathogen.