Studies on bacterial pathogens isolated from diseased torafugu (Takifugu rubripes) cultured in marine industrial recirculation aquaculture system in Shandong Province, China

In spring of 2011, an epidemic outbreak of torafugu with high mortality occurred in an aquafarm with marine industrial recirculation aquaculture system (MIRAS) in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. The diseased fish showed anorexia, haemorrhaging and festering fin and skin and swelling internal organs. Forty-five dominant bacterial isolates were obtained from the diseased fish, and were found to belong to 12 species according to 16S rRNA gene sequences. One strain from each species was selected to test the pathogenicity, and five strains were showed to be virulent to zebrafish. Whereas Enterovibrio nigricans Fr42 was highly virulent with the LD50 of 7.8 × 104 CFU g−1, Photobacterium swingsii Fr23, Vibrio owensii Fr40, V. harveyi Fr51 and V. rotiferianus Fr71 were moderately virulent with the LD50 of 1.7 × 106 to 8.4 × 106 CFU g−1. Both the bacteria and their extracellular products of the five strains were found to show phospholipase, caseinase, gelatinase, amylase and/or lipase activities. The production of N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) of the five strains was detected by three different AHLs biosensors, and three of them were found to produce AHLs by at least one kind of biosensor. This is the first study describing various opportunistic bacterial pathogens of fish cultured in MIRAS in China.