The effect of sodium chloride and glucose on Vibrio parahaemolyticus biofilm

What is it about?

V. parahaemolyticus is a common pathogen encountered in the aquaculture industry that causes severe infection upon consumption of undercooked or raw seafood. Therefore, industrial conditions (such as those related to food processing and handling) that promote survival of this potent pathogen should be investigated, and appropriate measures should be implemented to contain its number and extent of dissemination via contaminated food. Many microorganisms utilize the biofilm as a means to survive and propagate in stressful conditions. In addition, quorum sensing is important in establishing a critical bacterial load, which may subsequently cause an infection. In this context, the effect of salinity and glucose, two common ingredients associated with commercial seafood such as black tiger prawns, on biofilm formation and quorum sensing of V. parahaemolyticus, is critical. In this study, we demonstrated that cultures grown in 0.005-0.015% glucose (supplemented in Luria Bertani (LB) media containing 2% sodium chloride) showed elevated biofilm formation and AI-2 production, which, however, decreased in the presence of 0.02-0.05% glucose. Overall, 0.01-0.015% glucose plus 2% sodium chloride in LB media showed greater biofilm formation and AI-2 production on the shrimp surface.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Food processing environments are contaminated by pathogenic microbes. This study investigated biofilm formation and quorum sensing molecule detection of the food-borne pathogen V. parahaemolyticus on black tiger shrimp using various concentrations of NaCl and glucose. The production of the quorum sensing molecule, AI-2, produced by V. parahaemolyticus was assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. Since sea-food consumption is high in Korea, contamination of food with pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus is an important public health concern in the country.

Perspectives