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

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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 x 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.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
          Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
          Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
          0027-8424
          0027-8424
          Jun 25 2002
          : 99
          : 13
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. kathrynp@arches.uga.edu
          Article
          092260099
          10.1073/pnas.092260099
          124366
          12077296
          aae9dd40-71c9-419e-8359-4e4a83f85c45
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