Abstract
Diseases are one of the most critical limiting factors in aquaculture. Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are one of the most functionally viable sustainable aquaculture production systems adopted world over. In the event of any eventuality caused by bacterial pathogens, antibiotics or other antibacterial agents cannot be applied due to the vulnerability of biological filters which form an integral part of the RAS. Because of this, newer drugs are required for the effective control of diseases in RAS which would not interfere with the activity of nitrifying bacteria used in the biological filters. The antagonistic activity of pyocyanin, a bioactive compound produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, against vibrios is well established. The purpose of this study was to prove the effectiveness of pyocyanin as an aquaculture drug for application in RAS by employing a pilot-scale shrimp culture under RAS. It was noted that at the concentration of 5 mg L−1, pyocyanin could significantly bring down the population of Vibrio spp. in RAS without affecting noticeably the other natural heterotrophic bacteria. Also, pyocyanin at this concentration did not inhibit the activity of nitrifying bacterial consortia used in the SBSBR (stringed bed suspended bioreactor) of RAS. The reared shrimp (Penaeus monodon) showed 100% survival after the application of pyocyanin, besides exhibiting normal health signs. Pyocyanin was non-toxic to the shrimp hybrid cell line (PmLyO-Sf9) at the concentration required for its application in disease management (IC50 = 419.26 mg L−1). The present study has demonstrated that pyocyanin is effective as an environment-friendly and safe aquaculture drug for the application in RAS-based shrimp culture to control Vibrio spp. without impeding nitrification established through the deployment of nitrifying bioreactors.
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This study was funded by the Small Grant Programme of the Marine Biological Association of India (MBAI) and the authors thank MBAI for the grant.
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Conceptualization: I. S. Bright Singh, Soumya Balakrishnan; methodology: I. S. Bright Singh, Soumya Balakrishnan, Ahna Ameer; execution of work: Soumya Balakrishnan; assistance in the execution of work: Ahna Ameer, Sowmya Pazhur Mohandas, Ambadi Kannan Maliyekkal Sajeevan, Anoop Bhaskaran Sathyabhama; writing–original draft preparation: Soumya Balakrishnan; editing: I. S. Bright Singh; funding acquisition: Soumya Balakrishnan; supervision: I. S. Bright Singh.
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All the procedures involving shrimp were in accordance with the guidelines of the CPCSEA (Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals) for experimentation on fishes (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India).
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Balakrishnan, S., Ameer, A., Pazhur Mohandas, S. et al. Pyocyanin as a safe aquaculture drug for the control of vibriosis in shrimp recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Aquacult Int 30, 2129–2144 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-022-00890-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-022-00890-y