Characterization of bacteriophage HN48 and its protective effects in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus against Streptococcus agalactiae infections

Streptococcus agalactiae is a causative agent responsible for massive mortalities of tilapia that has led to catastrophic losses to tilapia culture globally. Bacteriophages represent a new class of antimicrobials against bacteria. In this study, we characterized the bacteriophage HN48, which formed small and round‐transparent plaques on a double‐layer plate. With a hexagonal head and a long tail, this phage may belong to the Caudovirales according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. HN48 was found to have a relatively wide and highly specific host range, to be sensitive to high temperature (60–80°C) and low pH (3–5), and to be relatively stable at alkaline pH (8–10). Intraperitoneal injection with HN48 had no adverse effects on tilapia and effectively inactivated the bacteria in the kidney. Fish that received phage therapy had 60% ± 3.3% survival rates and a delayed mean death time of about 3 days when compared to the control group. To the best of knowledge, this is the first study of tilapia streptococcal phage. Overall, the results indicated that phage HN48 could prevent tilapia from experimental S. agalactiae infection, suggesting it has the potential to control this disease.     

Roles of water quality and disinfectant application on inactivation of fish pathogenic Streptococcus agalactiae with povidone iodine,quaternary ammonium compounds and glutaraldehyde

Streptococcosis is an important bacterial disease in Nile tilapia causing severe economic losses to tilapia aquaculture worldwide. The effects of water quality (low‐ [LS] and high‐level [HS] soiling, to mimic clean or dirty surface conditions and temperatures) and disinfectant application (diluted concentrations and exposure time) were characterized on the inactivation of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from diseased tilapia. Five isolates were tested against three commercial disinfectant products with the main ingredients being povidone iodine (Anidine 100?; AD), benzalkonium chloride (Better BKC 80%?; BKC 80), and a mixture of quaternary ammonium compounds and glutaraldehyde (Chloraldehyde?; CR). CR demonstrated highest efficacy to S. agalactiae inactivation, followed by BKC 80 and AD, respectively. Higher‐level soiling, low temperature, diluted concentrations and short exposure time all decreased the disinfectant efficacy. CR and BKC 80 provided more than 5‐log inactivation at 1‐min exposure at 20°C under HS conditions, and also with ten‐fold‐diluted concentrations at 60‐min exposure time at 30°C. However, AD required 10‐min exposure to effectively remove bacteria under LS conditions at 30°C. The results could facilitate aquaculture management planning that leads to operating cost reductions and improvements in biosecurity.     

广西卵形鲳鲹海豚链球菌基因分型、耐药谱型以及毒力基因检测

为了解近年来广西卵形鲳鲹海豚链球菌流行菌株的基因型信息以及菌株间的差异,对2015—2016年从广西地区7个养殖场的患病卵形鲳鲹体内分离得到的17株海豚链球菌菌株分别进行了基因型分析、耐药谱测定以及毒力基因检测。采用随机扩增多态性DNA标记技术(RAPD)和基因组重复序列PCR(rep-PCR)分析其基因型。结果显示,RAPD和rep-PCR指纹图谱结果一致,17株海豚链球菌可分为2种基因型。对海豚链球菌7种主要的毒力相关基因特异PCR检测,所有菌株均为sim A+scp I+pdi+sag A+cps D+pgm A+cfi+毒力基因型,表明这2种基因型的海豚链球菌似乎均为毒力较强的菌株。采用K-B法进行了20种抗生素敏感实验分析其耐药谱,结果表明归于基因1型的菌株耐药谱为AZT,基因2型菌株则出现3种相似的耐药谱,分别为SIZ/T/S/PEN/AZT/SPE/CAZ/PB、SIZ/T/S/PEN/AZT/SPE/CAZ/CRO和SIZ/T/S/PEN/AZT/SPE/CAZ/PB/RIF,证实基因型相同的菌株耐药谱型也相似,2种基因型的菌株耐药谱型差异显著,因此基因型和耐药谱型存在相关性。此结果为卵形鲳鲹海豚链球菌病流行病学研究、疫苗研制以及疫病监测提供理论依据。     

Epizootics of Streptococcus agalactiae infection in captive rays from Queensland,Australia

The aim of this study was to describe two epizootics of high mortalities from infection with Streptococcus agalactiae, occurring in captive rays held in a marine display aquarium in south‐east Queensland, Australia, in 2009 and 2010. Five different species of rays were affected, including mangrove whiprays (Himantura granulata), estuary rays (Dasyatis fluviorum), eastern shovelnose rays (Aptychotrema rostrata), white‐spotted eagle rays (Aetobatus narinari) and blue‐spotted mask rays (Neotrygon kuhlii). This report describes the history of both epizootics including collection, quarantine and husbandry of rays, the disease epizootics, clinico‐pathological features of the disease, antimicrobial therapy, autogenous vaccine production, and laboratory studies including clinical and histopathology, bacteriology, PCR, molecular serotyping and sequencing of the bacterium S. agalactiae.     

Development of a quantitative PCR assay for monitoring Streptococcus agalactiae colonization and tissue tropism in experimentally infected tilapia

Streptococcus agalactiae has become one of the most important emerging pathogens in the aquaculture industry and has resulted in large economic losses for tilapia farms in China. In this study, three pairs of specific primers were designed and tested for their specificities and sensitivities in quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reactions (qPCRs) after optimization of the annealing temperature. The primer pair IGS‐s/IGS‐a, which targets the 16S‐23S rRNA intergenic spacer region, was finally chosen, having a detection limit of 8.6 copies of S. agalactiae DNA in a 20 μL reaction mixture. Bacterial tissue tropism was demonstrated by qPCR in Oreochromis niloticus 5 days post‐injection with a virulent S. agalactiae strain. Bacterial loads were detected at the highest level in brain, followed by moderately high levels in kidney, heart, spleen, intestines, and eye. Significantly lower bacterial loads were observed in muscle, gill and liver. In addition, significantly lower bacterial loads were observed in the brain of convalescent O. niloticus 14 days post‐injection with several different S. agalactiae strains. The qPCR for the detection of S. agalactiae developed in this study provides a quantitative tool for investigating bacterial tissue tropism in infected fish, as well as for monitoring bacterial colonization in convalescent fish.     

Genomic comparison of virulent and non‐virulent Streptococcus agalactiae in fish

Streptococcus agalactiae infections in fish are predominantly caused by beta‐haemolytic strains of clonal complex (CC) 7, notably its namesake sequence type (ST) 7, or by non‐haemolytic strains of CC552, including the globally distributed ST260. In contrast, CC23, including its namesake ST23, has been associated with a wide homeothermic and poikilothermic host range, but never with fish. The aim of this study was to determine whether ST23 is virulent in fish and to identify genomic markers of fish adaptation of S. agalactiae. Intraperitoneal challenge of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus), showed that ST260 is lethal at doses down to 10² cfu per fish, whereas ST23 does not cause disease at 10⁷ cfu per fish. Comparison of the genome sequence of ST260 and ST23 with those of strains derived from fish, cattle and humans revealed the presence of genomic elements that are unique to subpopulations of S. agalactiae that have the ability to infect fish (CC7 and CC552). These loci occurred in clusters exhibiting typical signatures of mobile genetic elements. PCR‐based screening of a collection of isolates from multiple host species confirmed the association of selected genes with fish‐derived strains. Several fish‐associated genes encode proteins that potentially provide fitness in the aquatic environment.     

山羊源多动物链球菌的分离与鉴定

从患病山羊鼻腔内分离到1株优势菌,该菌株为革兰氏阳性球菌,成对排列或为链状结构,能够发酵麦芽糖、乳糖、蔗糖和甘露醇并能产生碱性磷酸酶。对16S rDNA基因进行测序和Blast分析结果显示其与已知多动物链球菌16S rDNA序列(Y18026.1)的同源性为99%。动物回归致病性试验表明,该分离株对山羊具有较强致病性并命名为SP-1。药敏试验结果显示,该菌对氯霉素、阿米卡星、恩诺沙星、环丙沙星敏感;对阿奇霉素、红霉素、氟苯尼考、庆大霉素、阿莫西林、磺胺间甲氧嘧啶耐药。     

一株副乳房链球菌的分离鉴定及生物学分析

从四川省某大型养殖场病死猪肺脏分离到一株副乳房链球菌,观察该菌株的生长特性、染色特性,进行生化鉴定、药敏鉴定、毒力试验以及16S rRNA基因序列进化树分析。结果显示：该分离株的16S rRNA序列与副乳房链球菌的同源性为99%。分离株在TSA琼脂培养基上呈光滑圆形,半透明的菌落,在血琼脂上呈β溶血;对小鼠的致病性试验测得LD50为206×107 cfu·只-1;药敏试验表明,其对头孢类药物较为敏感,对喹诺酮类、四环素类以及氨基糖苷类不敏感。该研究为该菌的临床诊断、疾病预防、选药治疗等奠定了基础。     

荧光定量PCR检测猪链球菌2型主要毒力因子方法的建立

[目的]建立荧光定量PCR检测猪链球菌2型(Streptococcus suis serotype 2,SS2)、溶菌酶释放蛋白(Muramidase-released protein,MRP)和胞外因子(Extracellular protein factor,EF)3种主要毒力因子的方法。[方法]根据cps2j、mrp和ef基因的基因序列,分别设计并合成3对引物及相应的Taqman探针,其中cps2j和mrp的5'端标记FAM荧光发射基团,ef的5'端标记HEX荧光发射基团,3种基因的3'端都标记BHQ1淬灭荧光基团。通过优化反应体系和程序,建立了一种基于Taqman探针法的荧光定量PCR方法检测上述3种主要毒力因子,其中cps2j单独检测,mrp与ef的实行双重荧光PCR方法检测。[结果]cps2j、mrp和ef的最低检测限分别为12、51和51 CFU,灵敏度很高;与其他病原菌无交叉反应,重复性及特异性均较好;此外,整个检测过程在60 min内即可完成。[结论]该试验所建立的双重荧光定量PCR方法的敏感性、重复性及特异性均较好,可用于同时快速检测猪链球菌2型3种主要毒力因子。