# Climate change and marine pathogens: Environmentally-driven changes in Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus gene expression and pathogenicity

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2020 · $210,885

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Global climate change and sea-level rise will influence the abundances and distributions of marine pathogens
in coastal waters and seafood. This will result in a significant public health risk, which may lead to enhanced
illness in exposed populations. Increasing incidences of human infections due to species of Vibrio, a marine
Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, have occurred from 1996-2010. The annual incidence rate of Vibrio
illnesses in 2010 increased by 43% from those found during 2006-2008 and by 115% when compared to rates
during 1996-1998. Exposures to Vibrio vulnificus causes more than 22 deaths annually and is the leading
cause of death from seafood consumption accounting for approximately 95% of all deaths each year in the US
alone. V. parahaemolyticus infections, while rarely fatal, exceed 8,000 cases annually. Despite the growing risk
of these infections, little is known about how environmental parameters affect the complex virulence
mechanisms involved in pathogenicity. With increasing rates of Vibrio infection expected to continue, there is
an urgent need to fill this gap in knowledge related to how climate change may affect Vibrio virulence through
adaptive evolution and altered gene expression. A long-term goal of this study is to understand how climate
change influences Vibrio virulence. To accomplish this, experiments will determine how genetic mechanisms of
V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus virulence and antibiotic resistance are affected by changing
environmental parameters. The central hypothesis (H1) is that Vibrio virulence and antibiotic resistance will
increase under conditions simulating climate change. Through the coupling of mechanistic data to Vibrio
abundance and distribution, forecast models may be enhanced and more accurately predict public health risk.
Three specific aims will be addressed: (Aim 1) Determine how different combinations of environmental
parameters (temperature, salinity, metals, nutrients) affect V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus growth and
viability. (Aim 2) Assess how altered growth conditions affect V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus virulence
using a Caenorhabditis elegans model of pathogenicity. (Aim 3) Determine the effect of altered growth
conditions on V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus gene expression. Our working hypothesis is that altered
growth conditions will lead to upregulation of Vibrio stress response genes causing downstream changes in
virulence gene expression. The results of this study can be incorporated into Vibrio forecast models to better
predict spatial and temporal patterns of pathogenic Vibrio distribution. The enhanced model can then be used
to guide better public health exposure controls and regulations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977211
- **Project number:** 5P01ES028942-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Sean Norman
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $210,885
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977211

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977211, Climate change and marine pathogens: Environmentally-driven changes in Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus gene expression and pathogenicity (5P01ES028942-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977211. Licensed CC0.

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