Bacteria from the Vibrio genus are a ubiquitous component of coastal and estuarine ecosystems with several pathogenic Vibrio species displaying preferences for warm tropical waters. We studied the spatial and temporal abundance of three key human potential pathogens V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae and V. vulnificus in northern tropical Australia, over the wet and dry seasons, to identify environmental parameters influencing their abundance. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that V. parahaemolyticus occurred more frequently and in higher abundance than V. cholerae and V. vulnificus across all locations examined. All three species were more abundant during the wet season, with V. parahaemolyticus abundance correlated to temperature and conductivity, whereas nutrient concentrations and turbidity best explained V. vulnificus abundance. In addition to these targeted qPCR analyses, we assessed the composition and dynamics of the entire Vibrio community using hsp60 amplicon sequencing. Using this approach, 42 Vibrio species were identified, including a number of other pathogenic species such as V. alginolyticus, V. mimicus and V. fluvialis. The Vibrio community was more diverse in the wet season, with temperature and dissolved oxygen as the key factors governing community composition. Seasonal differences were primarily driven by a greater abundance of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus during the wet season, while spatial differences were driven by different abundances of V. harveyi, V. campbellii, V. cholerae and V. navarrensis. When we related the abundance of Vibrio to other bacterial taxa, defined using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, V. parahaemolyticus was negatively correlated to several taxa, including members of the Rickettsiales and Saccharimonadales, while V. vulnificus was negatively correlated to Rhobacteriaceae and Cyanobiaceae. In contrast, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi and V. mediterranei were all positively correlated to Cyanobacteria. These observations highlight the dynamic nature of Vibrio communities and expands current understanding of the processes governing the occurence of potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. in tropical coastal ecosystems.

弧菌属细菌是沿海和河口生态系统中无处不在的组成部分，其中几种致病弧菌物种对温暖的热带水域表现出偏好。我们研究了澳大利亚北部热带地区的三种关键人类潜在病原体副溶血性弧菌、霍乱弧菌和创伤弧菌在雨季和旱季的时空丰度，以确定影响其丰度的环境参数。定量 PCR (qPCR) 分析显示，与霍乱弧菌和创伤弧菌相比，副溶血性弧菌发生频率更高且丰度更高在所有检查的位置。所有三个物种在雨季都更加丰富，副溶血性弧菌的丰度与温度和电导率相关，而营养浓度和浊度最能解释创伤弧菌的丰度。除了这些有针对性的 qPCR 分析外，我们还使用hsp60扩增子测序评估了整个弧菌群落的组成和动态。使用这种方法，确定了42种弧菌物种，包括许多其他致病物种，如溶藻弧菌、拟菌弧菌和河流弧菌。该弧菌雨季群落更加多样化，温度和溶解氧是决定群落组成的关键因素。季节性差异主要是由更大的丰度驱动副溶血性弧菌和创伤弧菌在雨季，而空间差异是由不同的丰度驱动哈氏弧菌，坎V.，霍乱弧菌和V. navarrensis。当我们将弧菌的丰度与使用 16S rRNA 基因扩增子测序定义的其他细菌分类群相关联时，副溶血性弧菌与几个分类群呈负相关，包括立克次体目和糖单胞菌目，而创伤弧菌与红杆菌科和蓝藻科呈负相关。相比之下，V. alginolyticus、V. harveyi和V. mediterranei都与蓝藻呈正相关。这些观察结果突出了弧菌群落的动态性质，并扩展了目前对潜在致病性弧菌属发生过程的理解。在热带沿海生态系统中。