Objective 1. Isolate V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus specific phages. We hypothesize that bacteriophages that infect specifically V. parahaemolyticus or V. vulnificus and that are universal for all clinical isolates of these two bacterial species can be isolated. For this purpose, water samples collected from the northeast coast will be used to amplify phages specific to V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus. These phages will be analyzed to identify those that are specific to clinical isolates of these two bacterial species.

Objective 2. Develop a bacteriophage-based diagnostic test for the detection of virulent V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus. We hypothesize that recombinant phages expressing GFP of luxAB will enable the rapid detection of virulent V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in bivalves. To reach this goal, the bacteriophages isolated in the first part of the project will be further characterized and the most infectious ones will be used for the development of a diagnostic test that will be specific, sensitive, cost-effective, and rapid.