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Phylogenetic characteristics, virulence properties and antibiogram profile of motile Aeromonas spp. isolated from ornamental guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

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Abstract

Aeromonas spp. are opportunistic pathogenic bacteria related to an assembly of infectious diseases in ornamental fish. In the present study, virulence properties and antibiotic susceptibility of 52 guppy-borne Aeromonas spp. were investigated. The isolates were identified as A. veronii (n = 34), A. dhakensis (n = 10), A. hydrophila (n = 3), A. caviae (n = 3) and A. enteropelogenes (n = 2) by gyrB gene sequencing. The gyrB sequence deviation within and among the species ranged from 0 to 2.6% and 2.7–9.2%. Each species formed a distinct group in the unrooted neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree. The phenotypic virulence factors such as β-hemolysis, slime, caseinase, DNase, gelatinase and lipase production were observed in 28 (53.9%), 33 (63.5%), 28 (53.9%), 42 (80.8%), 37 (71.2%) and 42 (80.8%) isolates, respectively. The virulence genes were detected by PCR assay in the following proportions- act (84.6%), hly (80.8%), aer (73.1%), lip (73.1%), gcaT (73.1%), ascV (53.8%), ahyB (53.8%) fla (51.9%), alt (48.1%), ast (36.5%) and ser (34.6%), respectively. The amoxicillin, ampicillin, imipenem, nalidixic acid, oxytetracycline and rifampicin were resistant to more than 70.0% of the isolates in antibiotic susceptibility test. Our study suggests that the ornamental guppy can be a potential reservoir of virulent and multi-drug resistant Aeromonas spp.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Medicine, Veterinary Medical Center and College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Chungdae-ro 1, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 28644, Korea

    Sabrina Hossain, B. C. J. De Silva, P. S. Dahanayake & Gang-Joon Heo

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea

    Mahanama De Zoysa

Authors
  1. Sabrina Hossain
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  2. B. C. J. De Silva
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  3. P. S. Dahanayake
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  4. Mahanama De Zoysa
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  5. Gang-Joon Heo
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Correspondence to Gang-Joon Heo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines were followed to euthanize the fish.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Hossain, S., De Silva, B.C.J., Dahanayake, P.S. et al. Phylogenetic characteristics, virulence properties and antibiogram profile of motile Aeromonas spp. isolated from ornamental guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Arch Microbiol 202, 501–509 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-019-01762-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-019-01762-5

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