Shellfish

Mollusca

Ecology

Vibrio Infections

Bacteria

Biology

Fish <Actinopterygii>

Fishery

Aquatic animal

Mussel

Oyster

Evolutionary biology

Mytilus

Genetics

Crassostrea

Vibrio

Microbiology

Internal medicine

Aquaculture

Medicine

Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Zoology

Bivalvia

Disease

Pacific oyster

Environmental Microbiology

Summary In the marine environment, bivalve mollusks constitute habitats for bacteria of the Vibrionaceae family. Vibrios belong to the microbiota of healthy oysters and mussels, which have the ability to concentrate bacteria in their tissues and body fluids, including the hemolymph. Remarkably, these important aquaculture species respond differently to infectious diseases. While oysters are the subject of recurrent mass mortalities at different life stages, mussels appear rather resistant to infections. Thus, Vibrio species are associated with the main diseases affecting the worldwide oyster production. Here, we review the current knowledge on Vibrio –bivalve interaction in oysters ( Crassostrea sp.) and mussels ( Mytilus sp.). We discuss the transient versus stable associations of vibrios with their bivalve hosts as well as technical issues limiting the monitoring of these bacteria in bivalve health and disease. Based on the current knowledge of oyster/mussel immunity and their interactions with Vibrio species pathogenic for oyster, we discuss how differences in immune effectors could contribute to the higher resistance of mussels to infections. Finally, we review the multiple strategies evolved by pathogenic vibrios to circumvent the potent immune defences of bivalves and how key virulence mechanisms could have been positively or negatively selected in the marine environment through interactions with predators.

<i>Vibrio</i>–bivalve interactions in health and disease

Vibrio–bivalve interactions in health and disease