DAO Diseases of Aquatic Organisms Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials DAO 97:85-94 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02401 Injection of Acanthaster planci with thiosulfate-citrate-bile-sucrose agar (TCBS). I. Disease induction J. A. Rivera-Posada1,*, M. Pratchett1, A. Cano-Gómez2,3, J. D. Arango-Gómez4, L. Owens2,3 1ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4812, Australia 2School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4812, Australia 3Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia 4School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4812, Australia *Email: jairo.riveraposada@my.jcu.edu.au ABSTRACT: This is the first report of the successful induction of a transmissible disease in the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (COTS). Injection of thiosulfate-citrate-bile-sucrose agar (TCBS) culture medium into COTS induced a disease characterized by discoloured and necrotic skin, ulcerations, loss of body turgor, accumulation of colourless mucus on many spines especially at their tip, and loss of spines. Blisters on the dorsal integument broke through the skin surface and resulted in large, open sores that exposed the internal organs. Oedema and reddened digestive tissues and destruction of connective fibers were common. Moreover, healthy COTS in contact with these infected animals also displayed signs of disease and died within 24 h. TCBS induced 100% mortality in injected starfish. There was no intro­duction of new pathogens into the marine environment. TCBS promoted the growth of COTS' naturally occurring Vibrionales to high densities with subsequent symbiont imbalance followed by disease and death. KEY WORDS: COTS · Corallivores · Culture medium · Infectious disease · Quorum sensing · Vibrio Full text in pdf format NextCite this article as: Rivera-Posada JA, Pratchett M, Cano-Gómez A, Arango-Gómez JD, Owens L (2011) Injection of Acanthaster planci with thiosulfate-citrate-bile-sucrose agar (TCBS). I. Disease induction. Dis Aquat Org 97:85-94. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02401 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in DAO Vol. 97, No. 2. Online publication date: December 06, 2011 Print ISSN: 0177-5103; Online ISSN: 1616-1580 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.