Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 23750

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Italy
Interests: fish pathology; veterinary public health; aquarium, zoonosis
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IZSVe · National Reference Laboratory for Fish, Crustacean and Mollusc Pathologies, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy
Interests: aquatic animal health and welfare; fish, mollusk, and crustacean zoonotic pathogens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bacterial diseases can represent an important constraint to the aquaculture industry, causing mortality and production losses and a problem for the conservation of fish species into the wild. Therefore, an advanced knowledge of etiology, host–pathogen relationships, infection dynamics in different aquatic environments, and diagnosis of fish bacterial diseases is necessary in order to assess the risk factors influencing their introduction and spreading and define appropriate biosecurity measures which are useful to prevent and control them.

The purpose of this Special issue is to provide the opportunity to publish original research or review articles in the field of bacterial diseases of fish cultured for food, ornamental, research purposes, and of wild fish to update and better understand the epidemiology of emerging and re-emerging fish bacterial diseases and assess their actual economic, environmental, conservation, and public health impact, including the emerging antimicrobial resistance issues. Furthermore, contributions are welcome on the development and validation of new diagnostic tools, and of alternative therapeutic and immunoprophylactic strategies.

Dr. Daniela Florio
Dr. Amedeo Manfrin
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • bacterial diseases
  • farmed fish
  • ornamental fish
  • diagnosis
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • antimicrobial treatments
  • zoonosis
  • conservation
  • model organism

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 647 KiB  
Article
Quillaja saponaria (Molina) Extracts Inhibits In Vitro Piscirickettsia salmonis Infections
by Hernán Cañon-Jones, Hernán Cortes, Mario Castillo-Ruiz, Trinidad Schlotterbeck and Ricardo San Martín
Animals 2020, 10(12), 2286; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122286 - 3 Dec 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3364
Abstract
P. salmonis infections are the cause of major bacterial disease in salmonids in Chile, and the reason for using more antibiotics compared to other salmon-producing countries. Vaccination and antibiotics have not been efficient and new approaches are needed. The safety of Quillaja saponaria [...] Read more.
P. salmonis infections are the cause of major bacterial disease in salmonids in Chile, and the reason for using more antibiotics compared to other salmon-producing countries. Vaccination and antibiotics have not been efficient and new approaches are needed. The safety of Quillaja saponaria extracts was measured by cytotoxicity using flow cytometry of cytopathic and death of fish cell cultures and efficacy was assessed using in vitro infection models with pathogenic P. salmonis. Cytotoxicity was low and control of in vitro infections was achieved with all products, with protection of over 90%. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were much higher than those in the infection using cell cultures. These results suggest a dual mechanism of action where less purified extracts with a combination of saponin and non-saponin components simultaneously decrease P. salmonis infection while protecting cell lines, rather than exerting a direct antimicrobial effect. Quillaja saponins controlled in vitro infections with P. salmonis and could be considered good candidates for a new, safe and sustainable method of controlling fish bacterial infectious diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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9 pages, 12801 KiB  
Article
Meningitis Caused by Streptococcus agalactiae in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Infection and Inflammatory Response
by Silas Fernandes Eto, Dayanne Carla Fernandes, Alessandra Cristina de Moraes, João Victor da Costa Alecrim, Pedro Galdino de Souza, Fabíola Christian Almeida de Carvalho, Ives Charlie-Silva, Marco Antonio de Andrade Belo and João Martins Pizauro
Animals 2020, 10(11), 2166; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112166 - 20 Nov 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3457
Abstract
Streptococcus agalactiae (Sta) of Lancefield group B is the primary etiological agent of bacterial meningitis in Nile tilapia and newborn humans. Thus, the study of this disease is of fundamental importance for aquaculture and human medicine. Additionally, elucidation of the mechanisms [...] Read more.
Streptococcus agalactiae (Sta) of Lancefield group B is the primary etiological agent of bacterial meningitis in Nile tilapia and newborn humans. Thus, the study of this disease is of fundamental importance for aquaculture and human medicine. Additionally, elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the host–pathogenic response is important for the success of new therapies. In the present study, we elucidated important aspects of the innate immune response in the brain tissue of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) infected by Sta. The neuroinflammatory process in the meninges started with the migration of MHC class II and CD68 + cells, production of TNF-alpha, and the effective immune response to Sta was mediated by the increased iNOs+. In conclusion, the present study brings a partial understanding of the pathophysiological and neuroinflammatory mechanisms in meningitis in Sta infected tilapia, enabling important advances in the therapy of this disease as well as the possibility of using this biological model to understand human meningitis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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23 pages, 1275 KiB  
Article
Live Feeds Used in the Larval Culture of Red Cusk Eel, Genypterus chilensis, Carry High Levels of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic-Resistance Genes (ARGs)
by Luz Hurtado, Claudio D. Miranda, Rodrigo Rojas, Félix A. Godoy, Mark A. Añazco and Jaime Romero
Animals 2020, 10(3), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030505 - 18 Mar 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3176
Abstract
The culture of red cusk eel Genypterus chilensis is currently considered a priority for Chilean aquaculture but low larval survival rates have prompted the need for the continuous use of antibacterials. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the role of [...] Read more.
The culture of red cusk eel Genypterus chilensis is currently considered a priority for Chilean aquaculture but low larval survival rates have prompted the need for the continuous use of antibacterials. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the role of live feed as a source of antibacterial-resistant bacteria in a commercial culture of G. chilensis. Samples of rotifer and Artemia cultures used as live feed were collected during the larval growth period and culturable bacterial counts were performed using a spread plate method. Rotifer and Artemia cultures exhibited high levels of resistant bacteria (8.03 × 104 to 1.79 × 107 CFU/g and 1.47 × 106 to 3.50 × 108 CFU/g, respectively). Sixty-five florfenicol-resistant isolates were identified as Vibrio (81.5%) and Pseudoalteromonas (15.4%) using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. A high incidence of resistance to streptomycin (93.8%), oxytetracycline (89.2%), co-trimoxazole (84.6%), and kanamycin (73.8%) was exhibited by resistant isolates. A high proportion of isolates (76.9%) carried the florfenicol-resistance encoding genes floR and fexA, as well as plasmid DNA (75.0%). The high prevalence of multiresistant bacteria in live feed increases the incidence of the resistant microbiota in reared fish larvae, thus proper monitoring and management strategies for live feed cultures appear to be a priority for preventing future therapy failures in fish larval cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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20 pages, 1821 KiB  
Article
New Insights into Modelling Bacterial Growth with Reference to the Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum
by Christopher D. Powell, Secundino López and James France
Animals 2020, 10(3), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030435 - 5 Mar 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3306
Abstract
Two new models, based upon the principles promulgated by Baranyi and co-workers are presented and resulting growth functions evaluated based upon their ability to mimic bacterial growth of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. These growth functions make use of a dampening function [...] Read more.
Two new models, based upon the principles promulgated by Baranyi and co-workers are presented and resulting growth functions evaluated based upon their ability to mimic bacterial growth of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. These growth functions make use of a dampening function to suppress potential growth, represented by a logistic, and are derived from rate:state differential equations. Dampening effects are represented by a rectangular hyperbola or a simple exponential, incorporated into a logistic differential equation and solved analytically resulting in two newly derived growth equations, viz. logistic × hyperbola (log × hyp) and logistic × exponential (log × exp). These characteristics result in flexible and robust growth functions that can be expressed as equations with biologically meaningful parameters. The newly derived functions (log × hyp and log × exp), along with the Baranyi (BAR), simple logistic (LOG) and its modified form (MLOG) were evaluated based upon examination of residuals and measures of goodness-of-fit and cross-validation. Using these criteria, log × hyp, log × exp and BAR performed better than, or at least equally well as, LOG and MLOG. In contrast with log × exp and BAR, log × hyp can be easily manipulated mathematically allowing for simple algebraic expressions for time and microbial biomass at inflexion point, in addition to maximum and scaled maximum growth rates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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7 pages, 1419 KiB  
Communication
Fatal Infection in a Wild Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), Caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, Type Ia-ST7
by Danny Morick, Nadav Davidovich, Eyal Bigal, Ezra Rosenbluth, Arieli Bouznach, Assaf Rokney, Merav Ron, Natascha Wosnick, Dan Tchernov and Aviad P. Scheinin
Animals 2020, 10(2), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020284 - 12 Feb 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5091
Abstract
Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most important fish pathogenic bacteria as it is responsible for epizootic mortalities in both wild and farmed species. S. agalactiae is also known as a zoonotic agent. In July 2018, a stranded wild sandbar shark (Carcharhinus [...] Read more.
Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most important fish pathogenic bacteria as it is responsible for epizootic mortalities in both wild and farmed species. S. agalactiae is also known as a zoonotic agent. In July 2018, a stranded wild sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), one of the most common shark species in the Mediterranean Sea, was found moribund on the seashore next to Netanya, Israel, and died a few hours later. A post-mortem examination, histopathology, classical bacteriology and advanced molecular techniques revealed a bacterial infection caused by S. agalactiae, type Ia-ST7. Available sequences publicly accessible databases and phylogenetic analysis suggest that the S. agalactiae isolated in this case is closely related to fish and human isolates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a fatal streptococcosis in sandbar sharks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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7 pages, 1363 KiB  
Article
A Summer Mortality Outbreak of Lactococcosis by Lactococcus garvieae in a Raceway System Affecting Farmed Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
by Paolo Pastorino, Ana Isabel Vela Alonso, Silvia Colussi, Giulia Cavazza, Vasco Menconi, Davide Mugetti, Marzia Righetti, Raffaella Barbero, Gaetano Zuccaro, José Francisco Fernández-Garayzábal, Alessandro Dondo, Pier Luigi Acutis and Marino Prearo
Animals 2019, 9(12), 1043; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121043 - 29 Nov 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3393
Abstract
Lactococcosis is a fish disease of major concern in Mediterranean countries caused by Lactococcus garvieae. The most susceptible species is the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), suffering acute disease associated with elevated mortalities compared to other fish species. References reported that [...] Read more.
Lactococcosis is a fish disease of major concern in Mediterranean countries caused by Lactococcus garvieae. The most susceptible species is the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), suffering acute disease associated with elevated mortalities compared to other fish species. References reported that other salmonids are also susceptible to the disease, but no mortality outbreak has been described to date. The aim of this study was to present a mortality outbreak that occurred in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) farmed in northwestern Italy during the summer of 2018. Fish exhibited clinical signs, such as exophthalmos, diffused hemorrhages localized in the ocular zone, hemorrhagic enteritis, and enlarged spleen. L. garvieae was isolated in all fish. Molecular and epidemiological characterization of the isolates, through Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), confirmed the initial hypothesis of water as vehicle of infection favoring transmission between rainbow trout farmed in upstream compartments and brook trout located in downstream tanks. Moreover, several environmental conditions affected and promoted the outbreak, among them the high-water temperature, which probably induced a physiological stress in brook trout, being way above the optimal temperature for this species, increasing the susceptibility to infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
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