Hydrophobicity and adhesion to fish cells and mucus of Vibrio strains isolated from infected fish

Abstract

The hydrophobicity of 44 Vibrio strains isolated from cultured, diseased gilt-head sea bream (Sparus aurata) was determined. Three different methods were used: (1) microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH), either with phosphate buffer or with phosphate urea magnesium sulfate (PUM) buffer, (2) aggregation in the presence of salt solutions (SAT), and (3) adhesion to nitrocellulose filters (NCF). The results show that experimental conditions exerted a significant influence on hydrophobicity. Thus, Kendall rank coefficients showed the presence of correlation only for SAT and NCF, and for SAT and the MATH assay with PUM buffer. Moreover, no relationships were observed between the bacterial hydrophobicity estimated with the methods mentioned above and the ability of the strains to adhere to fish mucus or cells. These results indicate that adhesion of pathogenic Vibrio strains to host surfaces is mediated mainly by specific receptor interactions, instead of by hydrophobic interactions.