Environmental Drivers of the Divergence of Harveyi Clade Pathogens with Distinctive Virulence Gene Profiles

Fish and shellfish pathogens of the Harveyi clade of the <i>Vibrio</i> genus cause significant losses to aquaculture yields and profits, with some of them also causing infections in humans. The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of Harveyi clade fish and shellfish pathogens and their possible diversification in response to environmental drivers in southeastern USA waters. The presence and abundance of potential pathogens were evaluated via the detection and quantitation of six Harveyi-clade-specific virulence genes (<i>toxR</i>, <i>luxR</i>, <i>srp</i>, <i>vhh_a, vhh</i>, and <i>vhp</i>; VGs) in environmental DNA with clade-specific primers. The environmental DNA was obtained from water and sediments collected from three Georgia (USA) cultured clam and wild oyster grounds. In sediments, the VG concentrations were, on average, three orders of magnitude higher than those in water. The most and least frequently detected VGs were <i>vhp</i> and <i>toxR</i>, respectively. In water, the VGs split into two groups based on their seasonal trends. The first group, composed of <i>luxR</i>, <i>vhp</i>, <i>vhha</i>, and <i>vhh</i>, peaked in August and remained at lower concentrations throughout the duration of the study. The second group, composed of <i>toxR</i> and <i>srp</i>, peaked in June and disappeared between July and December. The first group revealed a high adaptation of their carriers to an increase in temperature, tolerance to a wide range of pH, and a positive correlation with salinity up to 25 ppt. The second group of VGs demonstrated a lower adaptation of their carriers to temperature and negative correlations with pH, salinity, potential water density, conductivity, and dissolved solids but a positive correlation with turbidity. No such trends were observed in sediments. These data reveal the role of VGs in the adaptability of the Harveyi clade pathogens to environmental parameters, causing their diversification and possibly their stratification into different ecological niches due to changes in water temperature, acidity, salinity, and turbidity. This diversification and stratification may lead to further speciation and the emergence of new pathogens of this clade. Our data urge further monitoring of the presence and diversification of Harveyi clade pathogens in a global warming scenario.