Vibrio splendidus
Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why you think it is important.
Genome Structure
Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence?
Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle
Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.
Ecology and Pathogenesis
Habitat; symbiosis; biogeochemical significance; contributions to environment.
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.
Ecology
Vibrio splendidus a planktonic vibrio species found in oceanic environment. It is a facultative anaerobe that has strains that have been found to be culturable in a lab environment. It has been found to be extremely prevalent in the gulf coast where it is able to be sampled out of most open water in the gulf. V. splendidus strains have been found that emit a sort of bioluminescence that is visible in high cell concentration areas. A study has found that V. splendidus and Vibrio harveyi are so closely related that a site specific probe for V. harveyi was also found to hybridize with V. splendidus, although the true phylogenetic relationship between these two organisms is still unknown.
Significance
{It has been found to kill some vertebrates.}
Vibrio Spendidus is a bioluminating organism. This means that the light it emits is not actual emitting a lot of thermal radiation. It is commonly accepted that nearly 90% of marine animals emit some sort of bioluminescence, so just that fact could show how common this organism may be in aquatic environments. This light that is emitted by the organism can offer many benefits to any animal that chooses to uptake this microbe and associate it with itself. It is speculated that the light could be used as an attractant luring prey in, as a deterrent keeping predators away or even simply a light source that allows the animal to see things that reflect the certain wavelength of light that V. splendiduus is emitting. It is still not very well known what else this organism may be doing in marine life.
{Emits bioluminescence}
Pathology
{Kills some invertebrates}
References
Author
Page authored by _____, student of Prof. Jay Lennon at Michigan State University.
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