Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS11 Coral Reefs

Date: Monday, February 12, 2001, Time: 11:45:00 AM

Location: Cimarron

Hayes, M, L, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA, mhayes@duke.edu

Bonaventura, J, , Duke University Medical Center and Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC, USA, joeb@duke.edu

Barber, R, T, Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC, USA, rbarber@duke.edu

AN ALTERNATIVE ANIMAL MODEL TO STUDY THE CHANGING ECOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES: BACTERIAL PATHOGENESIS IN SCLERACTINIAN CORALS

The end of the 20th century has been marked by an increase in the frequency, intensity and range of infectious diseases. A simple, unifying question can be raised: whether environmental changes have enhanced pathogen virulence, or increased host susceptibility, or perhaps both? We have developed a novel animal model for infectious disease research based on stony corals and confirmed coral pathogens. Our coral-bacteria model is useful for several reasons: 1) it is simple, compared to traditional mammalian or fish models; 2) it is uncomplicated by factors such as antibiotic resistance; 3) it is inexpensive to do at a marine laboratory; and 4) it provides unambiguous endpoints in that coral infectious disease involves disintegration of the host animal. The operational advantage of this model is that the two living components, host and pathogen, can be subjected individually to environmental change treatments such as temperature, UV radiation, inorganic nutrients, organic substrates or sediments. The components can then be combined in the mesocosm to determine how host and pathogen treatments modify the infection and disease process.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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