Sara Dziki Isaac Standish Diane L. Waller Jordan Richard Jesse Weinzinger Cleyo Harris Susan Knowles Tony Goldberg Eric Leis 2023 <p><span>Recent bacteriological investigations of freshwater mussel mortality events in the southeastern United States have identified a variety of bacteria and differences in bacterial communities between sick and healthy mussels. In particular,&nbsp;</span><span class="html-italic">Yokenella regensburgei</span><span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><span class="html-italic">Aeromonas</span><span>&nbsp;spp. have been shown to be associated with moribund mussels, although it remains unclear whether these bacteria are causes or consequences of disease. To further understand the role of bacteria in mussel epizootics, we investigated mortality events that occurred in the upper Midwest in the Embarrass River (Wisconsin) and the Huron River (Michigan). For comparison, we also studied mussels from an unaffected population in the St. Croix River (Wisconsin). Diverse bacterial genera were identified from these sites, including&nbsp;</span><span class="html-italic">Y. regensburgei</span><span>&nbsp;from moribund mussels in the Embarrass River (Wisconsin). This bacterium has also been consistently isolated during ongoing mortality events in the Clinch River (Virginia). Subsequently, we developed and validated molecular assays for the detection of&nbsp;</span><span class="html-italic">Yokenella</span><span>&nbsp;to use in future investigations of mussel mortality events and to identify environmental reservoirs of this bacterium.</span></p> application/pdf 10.3390/microorganisms11041068 en MDPI A bacteriological comparison of the hemolymph from healthy and moribund unionid mussel populations in the upper Midwestern U.S.A. prompts the development of diagnostic assays to detect Yokenella regensburgei article