Purification and characterization of an adhesion protein from the skin mucus of Paralichthys olivaceus

Higher adhesion to mucus and subsequent growth is associated with the pathogenicity of Vibrio. Vibrio fluvialis adherence to and growth in skin mucus of Paralichthys olivaceus were examined, and a adhesion-specific protein was purified from the skin mucus of P. olivaceus. The results indicate that V. fluvialis adhered readily to and grew efficiently in skin mucus of P. olivaceus. By Sephadex G-100 column, fractionation of skin mucus resolved 2 major peaks and 1 small peak, and the fractions with higher adhesion of V. fluvialis were focused on the first peak, 5 fractions especially. By the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the fractions 5 of Sephadex G-100 resolved into 6 major peaks at OD₂₈₀, and V. fluvialis adhered strongly to fractions of peak 1, 3. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that the fractions 5 of skin mucus on Sephadex G-100 columns yielded two bands, the fractions of peak 3 on HPLC yielded one band with a molecular mass of 66.2 kDa. The results suggest that pathogenic V. fluvialis can adhere to and grow in P. olivaceus skin mucus, and the V. fluvialis -specific receptor present in P. olivaceus skin mucus is a 66.2 kDa glycoprotein.