Isolation and identification of fish pathogen Edwardsiella tarda from mariculture in China

The causative agent was isolated from diseased turbots (Scophthalmus maximus) stricken by a high‐mortality outbreak of bacterial septicaemia occurring in a mariculture farm in Yantai, a northern coastal city of China. Seven pure isolates, namely EH‐15, EH‐103, EH‐107, EH‐202, EH‐203, EH‐305 and EH‐306, belonged to Edwardsiella tarda. The phenotypic features of the cultures were analysed extensively. Three of the isolates showed high 16S rDNA sequence similarities with E. tarda sequence (GenBank accession no. EF467289). However, unlike the E. tarda ATCC 15947, all the isolates, except EH‐15, contained a novel large plasmid sized about 23.7 kb. Furthermore, pathogenicity of the isolates was addressed by experimental challenges with fish models. The isolates exhibited strong virulence to swordtail fish with LD₅₀ ranging between 3.8 × 10³ and 3.8 × 10⁵ CFU g^?1, and EH‐202 displaying the lowest LD₅₀ value among them. Antibiotic susceptibilities of E. tarda isolates were assayed. Compared with E. tarda ATCC 15947, the isolates displayed strong resistance to chloramphenicol, and the probable dominant chloramphenicol resistance determinant was cat III. Depicting the main biological properties of turbot‐borne E. tarda strains in China, the study provided useful information for further unveiling their pathogenic mechanisms.     

Characterization of Edwardsiella tarda strains isolated from turbot, Psetta maxima (L.)

The biochemical, serological and molecular characteristics of a group of 21 Edwardsiella tarda strains isolated from turbot, Psetta maxima, in two different areas of Europe were analysed and compared with a total of 13 strains of this bacterial species with different geographical and host origins. All the turbot isolates were biochemically identical to the E. tarda strains included as reference. The use of different techniques including microagglutination, dot blot and Western blot of lipopolysaccharides allowed us to determine that all the turbot isolates constitute an homogeneous and distinctive serological group. Genetic analysis by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis demonstrated that although the E. tarda strains from turbot were compiled in a unique group using the primers P3 and P6, two clonal lineages could be detected when oligonucleotides P4 and P5 were employed.     

Intra- and interspecific phenotypic characteristics of fish-pathogenic Edwardsiella ictaluri and E. tarda

Intra‐ and interspecific characteristics of fish‐pathogenic Edwardsiella ictaluri, and E. tarda were determined by numerical analysis of gel electrophoresed protein profiles, fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and immunoblotting. The 18 E. ictaluri isolates revealed a high degree of homogeneity (70% similarity or higher) in their protein profiles and 95% similarity in their FAME, while the nine E. tarda isolates revealed 30% similarity in their protein profiles and 95% similarity in their FAME. Immunoblots probed for antigenic epitopes with goat antiserum produced against E. ictaluri and E. tarda, respectively, revealed that E. ictaluri were more homogeneous compared with the E. tarda isolates. Overall, there was a considerable degree of relatedness between the two species. Our findings suggest that phenotypically E. ictaluri represents a clonal bacterial population structure compared with the less monomorphic E. tarda.     

Pathogenicity of Edwardsiella tarda to olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel)

The LD50 and cytotoxic and enzymatic activities of both cells and extracellular products (ECPs) of eight Edwardsiella tarda strains were determined and their bacterial superoxide dismutase gene (sodB) and catalase gene (katB) were sequenced. Strains were also examined for their ability to resist the immune responses of olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. LD50 values of strains (FSW910410, KE1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) in olive flounder ranged between 10(2.5) and 10(5.3) cfu (colony forming units) per fish. Unlike the avirulent strain SU100 (LD50>or=10(7)), all pathogenic strains were able to survive in flounder serum and head kidney leucocytes (except for KE2). The virulent strains possessed type I sodB and katB, whereas SU100 had type II sodB but not katB. However, there was no difference between avirulent and virulent strains in haemolytic and cytotoxic activities. The results of this study demonstrated that the ability of E. tarda to resist complement activity and phagocytosis is conferred by its superoxide dismutase and catalase, which thus play an essential role in the pathogenicity of this bacterium. In addition genotyping of sodB and kat B proved to be a very useful tool to distinguish virulent from avirulent strains.     

中华鳖爱德华菌病病原菌的分离鉴定及致病因子研究

采用API 20E系列生化鉴定及16S rDNA和gyrB基因序列同源性分析方法,对从患病中华鳖(Trionyx sinen-sis)肝脏中分离到的一株细菌TL5m进行了鉴定,并通过人工感染试验,对该菌株进行了毒力检测;此外分别提取该TL5m株的主要致病因子外膜蛋白、脂多糖和胞外产物,对中华鳖进行毒力和免疫保护率试验。结果显示:菌株TL5m的API 20E鉴定编码为4544000,99.9%为迟钝爱德华氏菌(Edwardsiella tarda);其16SrDNA序列和gyrB基因序列(GenBank登录号分别:EF121756和GU563803)与迟钝爱德华氏菌的同源性最高(分别为94%和98%);菌株TL5m对中华鳖的半数致死量LD50为2.45×106 CFU/ind。药敏感结果显示菌株对磷霉素、菌必治、头孢孟多、头孢噻吩、壮观霉素高度敏感。外膜蛋白攻毒剂量60μg/ind和脂多糖攻毒剂量400μg/ind时,对中华鳖的致死率都为33.3%,胞外产物对中华鳖的LD50为31.73μg/ind;全菌灭活苗、胞外产物、外膜蛋白和脂多糖的免疫保护率分别为75%、62.5%、25%和87.5%。结果表明,发病中华鳖的病原菌为迟钝爱德华氏菌,其分泌的胞外产物对中华鳖具有较高毒力;提取的脂多糖对中华鳖遭受迟钝爱德华氏菌攻击具有较高免疫保护率。     

加州鲈迟缓爱德华氏菌病的检测和防治

以江苏省吴江市八坼镇区域养殖场加州鲈鱼病鱼的细菌性病原体为研究对象。通过分离纯化,形态学观察,结合16S rRNA基因序列同源性检索,对该病原菌进行初步判断。同时进行药敏实验,了解该病原菌对各种抗生素的耐药性和敏感程度。研究结果:分离纯化得到2株纯菌株L2F和L2P2,革兰染色均呈红色,阴性杆状菌。16S rDNA序列分析,L2F和L2P2菌株与迟缓爱德华氏菌(Edwardsiella tarda)的同源性达99%。初步判断该菌为迟缓爱德华氏菌。药敏实验结果,该菌对磺胺异恶唑、链霉素和利福平等药物不敏感或耐药,对左氧氟沙星、诺氟沙星、恩诺沙星、强力霉素、氟苯尼考、头孢哌酮相对敏感。     

牙鲆迟钝爱德华氏菌血清型及荧光抗体检验

以迟钝爱德华氏菌的代表菌株(HC010907-1)为免疫原,制备免疫血清,对分离于牙鲆鱼的130株迟钝爱德华氏菌进行了血清型检定,结果表明:供试的130株迟钝爱德华氏菌均为同种血清型;同时以此免疫血清为第一抗体,以标准羊抗兔IgG荧光抗体为第二抗体,进行了荧光抗体技术检验迟钝爱德华氏菌的可行性试验,表明亦具有较强的特异性。     

大菱鲆迟缓爱德华氏菌福尔马林灭活疫苗研究

以大菱鲆为免疫对象,采用0.5福尔马林灭活的方法,将迟缓爱德华氏菌制成全菌疫苗,验证了其具有可靠的安全性。以浸泡和注射两种免疫接种方法对养殖大菱鲆14d内进行2次免疫,第二次免疫后第10天,对免疫鱼和各自的对照鱼进行爱德华氏菌的人工感染试验,获得注射接种疫苗的大菱鲆对腹水病的免疫保护率为70,浸泡接种疫苗的大菱鲆对腹水病的免疫保护率为35。表明注射和浸泡接种迟缓爱德华氏菌全菌疫苗都能使大菱鲆对腹水病产生免疫效果,并且注射免役效果优于浸泡免疫。     

养殖澳洲宝石鱼迟缓爱德华氏菌的分离鉴定及致病基因的检测

从患病澳洲宝石鱼体内分离到一株致病菌(编号Et4),对该菌的生化特性及致病基因进行检测,并进行了药敏和人工感染实验。结果显示:菌株Et4的生化鉴定结果与迟缓爱德华氏菌(Edwardsiella tarda)标准菌株(AY77513)一致;其16S rRNA序列,经同源性比对与迟缓爱德华氏菌核苷酸相似度最高,达99%;根据迟缓爱德华氏菌的致病基因Ⅲ型分泌系统装置蛋白esaV基因序列设计引物,进行PCR扩增,得到708 bp序列,该序列与迟缓爱德华氏菌的esaV基因序列相似性达99.3%,说明菌株Et4具有esaV基因。菌株Et4对环丙沙星等较敏感,对其它药物中度或不敏感,具有较强的致病力(LD50=3.74×104CFU/mL),从病鱼中可以重新分离出此菌。综合形态学、生化特性、16S rDNA序列及致病基因序列鉴定其为迟缓爱德华氏菌。     

Effect of temperature and salinity on virulence of Edwardsiella tarda to Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck et Schlegel)

Experiments were designed to determine the effects of temperature and salinity on the virulence of Edwardsiella tarda to Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. In the temperature experiment, a two‐factor design was conducted to evaluate the effects of both pathogen incubation temperature and fish cultivation temperature on pathogen virulence. E. tarda was incubated at 15, 20, 25 and 30±1°C, and the fish (mean weight: 10 g) were reared at 15, 20 and 25±1°C respectively. The fish reared at different temperatures were infected with the E. tarda incubated at different temperatures. The results of a 4‐day LD₅₀ test showed that temperature significantly affected the virulence of E. tarda (P<0.01) and the interaction between the two factors was also significant (P<0.01). For fish reared at 15°C the virulence of E. tarda was the highest at 25°C of pathogen incubation, followed by 20, 15 and 30°C. When the fish rearing temperature was raised to 20 and 25°C, the virulence of E. tarda incubated at all temperatures increased. Isolation testing demonstrated results similar to those of LD₅₀. The higher rearing temperature increased the proliferation rate of the pathogen in fish. In the salinity experiment, the incubation salinity of E. tarda was at 0, 10, 20 and 30 g L^?1, respectively, and the fish with mean weight of 50 g were cultured in natural seawater of 30 g L^?1. The results of one‐way anova in 4‐day LD₅₀ test showed that incubation salinity significantly affected virulence. Virulence was lower when the salinity of the incubation medium was at 0 and 30 g L^?1, higher at 10 and 20 g L^?1. The results of isolation test were in accordance with those of LD₅₀. At 20 g L^?1E. tarda had a faster proliferation rate than that at 10 g L^?1.     

牙鲆抗迟缓爱德华氏菌病家系的继代选育与早期速生家系筛选

迟缓爱德华氏菌(Edwardsiella tarda)是牙鲆(Paralichthys olivaceus)的主要致病菌之一,严重影响牙鲆养殖业的可持续发展。本研究主要以2012、2013和2014年选育的优质抗病牙鲆家系为亲本,于2016年建立和培育了28个牙鲆家系,包括F3代家系4个、F_4代家系23个和对照家系1个。经过60 d的鱼苗早期生长性能测定和迟缓爱德华氏菌人工攻毒感染实验,筛选得到7个高抗病力(攻毒感染存活率66%)的家系,包括1个高抗病、速生家系(F1639),攻毒存活率达77.23%,比28个家系的平均值高32.75%,全长日增长率达到0.174 cm/d,比28个家系的均值高0.023 cm/d。该家系亲本源自2007年[F0750,抗鳗弧菌(Vibrio anguillarum)病家系]、2009年(F0927,抗鳗弧菌病家系)和2014年(F1421,抗迟缓爱德华氏菌家系)选育的抗病力强家系。历代攻毒感染实验的结果显示,选育的牙鲆家系抗病力逐代提高,说明通过家系选育(同胞选择),能够有效提高选育后代的抗病力。本研究进一步证明,家系选育是培育鱼类抗病优良品种的有效途径,为进一步培育出生长更快、抗病力更强的牙鲆新品种奠定了良好的基础,也为牙鲆对爱德华氏菌抗病性能的遗传解析和抗病机理研究提供了良好的遗传材料,对其他鱼类抗病良种选育具有重要指导作用和应用价值。     

鳗鲡病原性嗜水气单胞菌与爱德华氏菌二联表达外膜蛋白的免疫原性

采用鳗鲡源嗜水气单胞菌(Aeromonas hydrophila)和迟缓爱德华氏菌(Edwardsiella tarda)外膜蛋白基因二联表达产物免疫日本鳗鲡(Anguilla japonica),检测其对日本鳗鲡免疫功能的影响及其攻毒免疫保护力。将150尾日本鳗鲡平均分为PBS、细菌免疫和外膜蛋白免疫3个组,3组鳗鲡分别以PBS(0.01 mol/L,p H7.4)、嗜水气单胞菌与迟缓爱德华氏菌二联灭活苗(5.0×108 CFU/m L)、嗜水气单胞菌与迟缓爱德华氏菌外膜蛋白二联表达产物(500μg/m L)腹腔注射0.2 m L。于免疫后14、21和28 d麻醉鳗鲡采血并分离抗凝血。测定3个时间点鳗鲡血浆中特异性抗体效价和同时期鳗鲡血浆、体表黏液、肝和肾组织匀浆液中的溶菌酶含量,同时检测3个时间点鳗鲡全血细胞的转化水平。免疫后28 d,嗜水气单胞菌和迟缓爱德华氏菌分别腹腔注射感染3组鳗鲡并测定其相对免疫保护率。结果表明,免疫后14 d和28 d,灭活菌和外膜蛋白免疫组的抗体水平均极显著高于PBS组(P0.01)。溶菌酶检测结果表明,不同处理组不同时间段血清、黏液和肝肾组织悬液的溶菌酶含量存在显著(P0.05)或极显著(P0.01)差异。免疫后14 d灭活菌组全血细胞转化水平显著高于PBS和外膜蛋白组(P0.05),而21 d两个免疫组则均显著低于PBS组(P0.05)。活菌感染结果表明,灭活菌和外膜蛋白免疫后28 d对两株病原菌的攻毒相对免疫保护率均比PBS组提高了50%(P0.05)。本研究结果表明鳗鲡源嗜水气单胞菌和迟缓爱德华氏菌外膜蛋白二联表达产物免疫日本鳗鲡后可提高鳗鲡的免疫功能及其对这两株菌的抵抗力,从而可能应用于鳗鲡基因工程疫苗的研发。     

牙鲆NOD2基因的表达分析及在抗迟缓爱德华氏菌感染过程中的功能

本研究利用实验室已建牙鲆(Paralichthys olivaceus)转录组数据库预测得到牙鲆NOD2基因(PoNOD2),并利用PCR技术进行序列验证。同时,设计迟缓爱德华氏菌注射感染牙鲆成鱼和体外免疫刺激牙鲆鳃细胞系实验,探究PoNOD2基因在抗菌免疫反应中的作用。PoNOD2基因的开放阅读框长度为2964 bp,编码988个氨基酸。PoNOD2蛋白有3种保守结构域,包括C-末端LRR,中心NACHT和N-末端CARD结构域。实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,在所检测牙鲆组织中,迟缓爱德华氏菌的侵染能显著上调PoNOD2的表达。体外免疫刺激牙鲆鳃细胞系实验显示,在PGN、PolyⅠ:C和迟缓爱德华氏菌刺激下,PoNOD2表达上调。亚细胞定位显示,PoNOD2蛋白定位于牙鲆鳃细胞的细胞质中。在迟缓爱德华氏菌侵染牙鲆鳃细胞过程中,PoNOD2基因的过表达能够抑制细菌生长,并引起IL-1β、IL-6和IL-8等炎性细胞因子的表达上调。结果表明,PoNOD2在抑制迟缓爱德华氏菌生长以及调节牙鲆对病原菌的免疫应答中发挥重要作用。     

Edwardsiellosis in farmed turbot,Scophthalmus maximus (L.), associated with an unusual variant of Edwardsiella tarda: a clinical,aetiological and histopathological study

During 2005 and 2010, a survey of edwardsiellosis on eight turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.), farms was conducted in China. This report presents the detailed results of the study on this disease. Diseased turbot displayed two distinct types of gross signs: black discoloration of the dorsal skin on the posterior portion of the body; and red cutaneous foci on the ventral side. Internally, the most pronounced clinical signs in all fish examined were enlarged kidneys. The causal agent of the disease was finally proved to be one species of bacterium that was identified as Edwardsiella tarda by physiological and biochemical tests, API 32E and 16S ribosomal RNA sequence analysis. It is noteworthy that unlike the commonly described E. tarda strains, the isolates in this study were non‐motile strains without flagella. A histopathological study revealed that E. tarda infection was systemic in turbot and that kidney showed the most significant pathological changes, including acute focal necrosis, an influx of macrophages and formation of granuloma. The most common histopathological characteristics of this disease are the proliferation of macrophage in various organs and formation of granuloma. In addition, this article also gave background information on the disease and presented the results of virulence tests with the E. tarda strain identified in this study.     

Multiplex nested-polymerase chain reaction for the simultaneous detection of Aeromonas hydrophila, Edwardsiella tarda, Photobacterium damselae and Streptococcus iniae, four important fish pathogens in subtropical Asia

A multiplex nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based (m-nested PCR) method was developed for simultaneous detection of four important freshwater/marine fish pathogens in subtropical Asia, including Aeromonas hydrophila, Edwardsiella tarda, Photobacterium damselae and Streptococcus iniae . The specificity of the oligonucleotide primers used for PCR detection was confirmed to generate specific amplicons for the corresponding pathogens. Moreover, non-specific amplicons were observed when the primers were tested using pure DNA extracted from 31 related bacterial strains belonging to 23 species or tissue homogenates of infected tilapia. This m-nested PCR approach could detect 19 colony forming unit (CFU) for A. hydrophila , 62 CFU for E. tarda , 280 CFU for P. damselae subsp. piscicida and 179 CFU for S. iniae in infected tilapia kidney homogenates, consistent with the results derived from bacteriological methods. The assay described in this paper is a sensitive and effective method for simultaneous detection of multiple fish pathogens.     

Occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistance and genotypic characterization in Edwardsiella tarda isolated from cage‐cultured hybrid red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) in the Ping River,Northern Thailand

Edwardsiella tarda is a pathogen that causes edwardsiellosis in aquatic animals. The emergence of multiple antibiotic‐resistant strains makes antibiotic treatment difficult. This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility patterns and the genotypic characterization of E. tarda isolated from cage‐cultured red tilapia in Thailand. A total of 30 isolates were identified as E. tarda using biochemical and molecular analysis. The disc diffusion method for testing antibiotic susceptibility showed all the isolates were resistant to colistin sulphate and oxolinic acid. High levels of resistance to amoxicillin, ampicillin, ceftazidime, oxytetracycline and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim were observed as well. The multiple antibiotic resistance index ranged from 0.25 to 0.92, indicating that these isolates had been exposed to high risk sources of contamination where antibiotics were commonly used. All the isolates carried the bla_TEM gene based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The tetA and sul3 genes were detected in 90% (27/30) and 26.7% (8/30) of the isolates respectively. Nine different genetic groups of isolates were obtained using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction (ERIC‐PCR). A correlation between genetic types and multiple antibiotic‐resistant patterns was found. These results highlight the potential risks of multiple antibiotic‐resistant isolates for humans and the environment.     

Comparative genomic insights into the taxonomy of Edwardsiella tarda isolated from different hosts: Marine,freshwater and migratory fish

Edwardsiella tarda, a Gram‐negative member of the family Enterobacteriaceae, has been isolated from many animal species worldwide, especially fish species. Its broad host range indicates the diversity in taxonomy, which attracted the attention of many researchers. Here, we added genome of E. tarda strain isolated from freshwater fish to comparative genomics study for the first time. We sequenced and assembled the genome of E. tarda ASE201307 which was isolated from freshwater Asian swamp eel. ASE201307 genome contained a single circular chromosome of 3.68M with G+C 57.09% content. Comparative genomics including SNP calling, synteny block, Core/Pan genes analysis and phylogeny analysis was conducted among ASE201307 and other Edwardsiella strains isolated from different fish species. Results of SNP analysis and synteny block demonstrated the close relative of ASE201307, FL95.01 and DT which were all isolated from freshwater fish. In further analysis heat map of dispensable genes and phylogenetic tree, all E. tarda strains were divided into two groups. One was isolated from freshwater fish and the other was isolated from marine/migratory fish. Based on all studies above, we proposed the living environment of hosts as a new taxonomic character and divided E. tarda isolated from diseased fish into freshwater group and marine/migratory group.     

Intraspecific diversity of Edwardsiella ictaluri isolates from diseased freshwater catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage), cultured in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

A molecular epidemiology study was conducted on 90 Edwardsiella ictaluri isolates recovered from diseased farmed freshwater catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, cultured in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Thirteen isolates of E. ictaluri derived from diseased channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, cultured in the USA were included for comparison. All the E. ictaluri isolates tested were found to be biochemically indistinguishable. A repetitive (rep)‐PCR using the single (GTG)₅ primer was shown to possess limited discriminatory power, yielding two similar DNA profiles categorized as (GTG)₅‐PCR group 1 or 2 among the Vietnam isolates and (GTG)₅‐PCR group 1 within the USA isolates. Macrorestriction analysis identified 14 and 22 unique pulsotypes by XbaI and SpeI, respectively, among a subset of 59 E. ictaluri isolates. Numerical analysis of the combined macrorestriction profiles revealed three main groups: a distinct cluster formed exclusively of the USA isolates, and a major and minor cluster with outliers contained the Vietnam isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility and plasmid profiling supported the existence of the three groups. The results indicate that macrorestriction analysis may be regarded as a suitable typing method among the E. ictaluri species of limited intraspecific diversity. Furthermore, the findings suggest that E. ictaluri originating from Vietnam may constitute a distinct genetic group.     

Comparative Susceptibility of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus; Blue Catfish,Ictalurus furcatus; and Channel (♀) × Blue (♂) Hybrid Catfish to Edwardsiella piscicida,Edwardsiella tarda,and Edwardsiella anguillarum

Members of the genus Edwardsiella are important pathogens of cultured and wild fish globally. Recent investigations into the phenotypic and genotypic variation of Edwardsiella tarda have led to the segregation of E. tarda into three distinct taxa: E. tarda, Edwardsiella piscicida, and Edwardsiella anguillarum. In catfish aquaculture in the southeastern USA, E. piscicida has been more commonly associated with disease than E. tarda or E. anguillarum, and recent research has demonstrated E. piscicida to be more pathogenic in channel catfish than E. tarda or E. anguillarum. Anecdotal reports from industry suggest an increased prevalence of E. piscicida associated with the culture of channel (♀) × blue (♂) hybrid catfish. This work investigated the comparative susceptibility of channel catfish, blue catfish, and their hybrid cross to molecularly confirmed isolates of E. tarda, E. piscicida, and E. anguillarum. There was significantly higher mortality in hybrid catfish compared to channel catfish following intracoelomic injection of E. piscicida. To our knowledge, E. piscicida is the first bacterial pathogen to demonstrate increased pathogenicity in hybrid catfish compared to channel catfish.