The pathway of Edwardsiella piscicida infecting Lateolabrax maculatus via the immersion bath

Abstract Edwardsiella piscicida , an infectious bacterium, causes great economic losses to the aquaculture industry. Immersion bath which is the closest way to how the fish infect bacterial pathogens in the natural environment is an effective route of artificial infection. In this study, the dynamic process of E. piscicida infection, in the spotted sea bass ( Lateolabrax maculatus ) was evaluated via the immersion bath. The results showed that soaking the spotted sea bass with 3 × 10 6 CFU mL −1 E. piscicida for 30 min could artificially induce edwardsiellosis. The higher culture temperature (28.5 ± 0.5°C) or the longer bath time (30 min) would lead to higher mortality of fish. E.piscicida first invaded the gill, then entered the blood circulation to infect the spleen and kidney, where it is colonized, and gradually multiplied in the liver and brain. Meanwhile, the fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that the localization of E. piscicida in the gill and foregut after the immersion challenge proceeded from the exterior to the interior. The invasion of pathogens triggers the immune response of fish and causes tissue damage to the host. The quantitative real‐time PCR results displayed an increase in the relative expression level of immune genes ( NK‐lysin , LZM , IgM and IgD ). Otherwise, the most notable histopathological changes of the infected spotted sea bass were multifocal necrosis. Findings in this study broaden our understanding of the infection conditions of E. piscicida and its pathogenicity to the spotted sea bass.