Vibrio harveyi is a
Gram-negative,
bioluminescent, marine
bacterium in the
genus Vibrio.
V. harveyi is rod-shaped, motile (via polar
flagella), facultatively anaerobic, halophilic, and competent for both fermentative and respiratory metabolism. It does not grow below 4°C or above 35°C.
V. harveyi can be found free-swimming in tropical marine waters,
commensally in the gut microflora of
marine animals, and as both a primary and
opportunistic pathogen of marine animals, including Gorgonian
corals,
oysters,
prawns,
lobsters, the
common snook,
barramundi,
turbot,
milkfish, and
seahorses. It is responsible for luminous vibriosis, a disease that affects commercially farmed penaeid prawns. Additionally, based on samples taken by ocean-going ships,
V. harveyi is thought to be the cause of the
milky seas effect, in which, during the night, a uniform blue glow is emitted from the
seawater. Some glows can cover nearly .