Scientists identify bacterium behind devastating wasting disease in starfish
Guardian2 days
This breakthrough finally offers the tools to combat one of the ocean's most devastating epidemics. After a decade of watching these magnificent creatures decline, scientists can now develop targeted treatments, such as probiotics, and breed disease-resistant sea stars for reintroduction programs.
While identifying the bacterium marks progress, the real challenge lies ahead in understanding what triggered this pathogen to go rogue after existing harmlessly in ocean waters for years. Climate change and warming waters may have created conditions that allowed Vibrio pectenicida to proliferate and devastate sea star populations.
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