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Limited geographic distribution of certain strains of the bioluminescent symbiont Photobacterium leiognathi.

Photobacterium leiognathi is a facultative bioluminescent symbiont of marine animals. Strains of P. leiognathi that are merodiploid for the luminescence genes (lux-rib operon) have been previously obtained only from Japan. In contrast, strains bearing a single lux-rib operon have been obtained from all the areas sampled in Japan and the western Pacific. In this study, we tested whether distribution of merodiploid P. leiognathi is limited by physical barriers in the environment, or because fish in the western Pacific preferentially form symbiosis with bacteria bearing a single lux-rib operon. We collected light organ symbionts from Secutor indicius, a fish species that is typically found in the western Pacific and has only recently expanded its geographic range to Japan. We found that all S. indicius specimens collected from Japan formed symbiosis only with single lux-rib operon-bearing strains, although fish from other species collected from the same geographic area frequently contained merodiploid strains. This result shows that S. indicius were preferentially colonized by bacteria bearing a single lux-rib operon and suggests that the limited geographic distribution of merodiploid P. leiognathi can be attributed to preferential colonization of fish species found in the western Pacific by strains bearing only a single lux-rib operon.