Chemotaxis to Chitin Oligosaccharides by Vibrio Furnissii, a Chitinivorous Marine Bacterium

We have reported that Vibrio furnissii, a chitinivorous marine bacterium, expresses a complex apparatus for adhesion/deadhesion to chitin analogues (1). In the present studies, we show that this organism exhibits a chemotactic response (swarming) to chitin oligosaccharides at concentrations as low as 10 microM. In contrast, V. furnissii exhibits slight to no chemotaxis to other utilizable compounds (glycerol, lactate, amino acids), with the exception of L-glutamic acid. V. furnissii may lack the tar (aspartate) receptor of Escherichia coli.