Comparison of Various Vaccines for Inducing Resistance in the Lobster Homarus americanus to the Bacterial Infection, Gaffkemia

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Abstract
Various degrees of resistance to infection of lobsters Homarus americanus by Aerococcus viridans (var.) homari (formerly Gaffkya homari) were induced by vaccines prepared in different ways. Vaccines consisting of formalin-killed cells of a virulent strain of the pathogen (grown in vitro and in vivo) gave a low level of protection, i.e. the vaccinated lobsters were able to resist challenges of 200 bacteria/kg host body weight. A vaccination approach utilizing a low initial dose of the antibiotic, vancomycin, followed 24 h later by injection of 1 × 106 live pathogen cells/kg body weight produced a high degree of resistance to subsequent challenge at times considerably beyond the clearance times for the antibiotic. Fatal infections in normal lobsters are readily established with 10 pathogen cells/kg body weight whereas treatment of lobsters with the vancomycin-live pathogen combination resulted in an LD50 of 2 × 107 live pathogen/kg body weight. It is suggested that the relative effectiveness of the various vaccines is related directly to the concentrations of cellular components within the pathogen, possibly precursors of cell wall mucopeptides.

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