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Research Article

The etiology of white pox, a lethal disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata

Kathryn L. Patterson, James W. Porter, Kim B. Ritchie, Shawn W. Polson, Erich Mueller, Esther C. Peters, Deborah L. Santavy, and Garriet W. Smith
PNAS June 25, 2002 99 (13) 8725-8730; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.092260099
Kathryn L. Patterson
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James W. Porter
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Kim B. Ritchie
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Shawn W. Polson
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Erich Mueller
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Esther C. Peters
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Deborah L. Santavy
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Garriet W. Smith
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  1. Communicated by Eugene P. Odum, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (received for review December 12, 2001)

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Abstract

Populations of the shallow-water Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, are being decimated by white pox disease, with losses of living cover in the Florida Keys typically in excess of 70%. The rate of tissue loss is rapid, averaging 2.5 cm2⋅day−1, and is greatest during periods of seasonally elevated temperature. In Florida, the spread of white pox fits the contagion model, with nearest neighbors most susceptible to infection. In this report, we identify a common fecal enterobacterium, Serratia marcescens, as the causal agent of white pox. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a bacterial species associated with the human gut has been shown to be a marine invertebrate pathogen.

Footnotes

    • ↵† To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: kathrynp{at}arches.uga.edu.

    • Data deposition: The sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the GenBank database (accession no. AF389108).

    • Received December 12, 2001.
    • Accepted May 1, 2002.
    • Copyright © 2002, The National Academy of Sciences
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    The etiology of white pox, a lethal disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
    Kathryn L. Patterson, James W. Porter, Kim B. Ritchie, Shawn W. Polson, Erich Mueller, Esther C. Peters, Deborah L. Santavy, Garriet W. Smith
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2002, 99 (13) 8725-8730; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.092260099

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    The etiology of white pox, a lethal disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
    Kathryn L. Patterson, James W. Porter, Kim B. Ritchie, Shawn W. Polson, Erich Mueller, Esther C. Peters, Deborah L. Santavy, Garriet W. Smith
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2002, 99 (13) 8725-8730; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.092260099
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    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 99 (13)
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