Cysteine protease is a major exotoxin of pathogenic luminous Vibrio harveyi in the tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon

The role of an extracellular cysteine protease, produced by pathogenic luminous Vibrio harveyi strain 820514 originally isolated from diseased tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), in the disease process in the prawns was studied. The protease was lethal to P. monodon with an LD50 value of 0.3 mu g protein g(-1) prawn. The lethal toxicity of the extracellular products (ECP) of the bacterium was neutralized by pre-incubation of the ECP with rabbit antiserum to the cysteine protease. Pre-incubation of ECP with CuCl2 (an inhibitor of cysteine protease) also inhibited toxicity. This suggests that cysteine protease is the major toxin produced by the bacterium. The present protease is the first toxic cysteine protease to be found in Vibrio species.