Further Bacteriological Analysis of Annual Pheasantshell (Actinonaias Pectorosa) Mussel Mortality Events in the Clinch River (Virginia/Tennessee), USA, Reveals a Consistent Association with Yokenella Regensburgei

Abstract

Pheasantshell (Actinonaias pectorosa) mussels in the Clinch River (Tennessee/Virginia, USA) have declined dramatically in recent years. The bacterium Yokenella regensburgei was first isolated with high prevalence from Pheasantshells during the peak of a 2017 mortality event, but it was not identified after mortality subsided a few months later. Since 2017, Pheasantshell mortality in the Clinch River has occurred each autumn. We extended the investigation of culturable bacterial communities in the Clinch River during mussel mortality events in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and examined the spatial and temporal distribution of bacterial genera among Pheasantshells, as well as among other unionid mussels. We identified Y. regensburgei each year, almost exclusively during active mortality events. The significance of Y. regensburgei remains unclear, but the continued association of this bacterium with mussel mortality events warrants further study.