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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306100
Title: Bacterial distribution and tissue targets following experimental Edwardsiella ictaluri infection in nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

Author
item SOTO, E - Ross University
item ILLANES, O - Ross University
item REVAN, F - Ross University
item GRIFFIN, MATT - Mississippi State University
item RIOFRIO, A - Aquainnovo-Chile

Submitted to: Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2013
Publication Date: 5/27/2013
Citation: Soto, E., Illanes, O., Revan, F., Griffin, M. 2013. Bacterial distribution and tissue targets following experimental Edwardsiella ictaluri infection in nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 104:105-112.

Interpretive Summary: This study looked at infecting Oreochromis noliticus with Edwardsiella ictaluri to looked at the pathogenesis of the disease, what the infective dose is, tissue targets of infection, rate of bacterial dissemination and the specific tissue response to an immersion challenge. It determined that the main target organs are the spleen and head kidney.

Technical Abstract: Edwardsiella ictaluri, a Gram-negative enteric bacterium, is the known etiological agent of enteric septicemia of catfish. In the last few years, different strains have been implicated as the causative agent of mortality events in cultured fish, including Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus L. Due to the emergent nature of edwardsiellosis in non-ictalurid fish, little is known about the dynamics of E. ictaluri infection in tilapia. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis of edwardsiellosis in tilapia by determining the median lethal and infective doses, tissue targets of infection, rate of bacterial dissemination, and the specific tissue response to E. ictaluri following an immersion challenge with bacterial strains recovered from outbreak events in tilapia. In addition to histopathology assessment, the bacterial burdens in several tissues of infected fish were determined over a 2 wk course of infection using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The collected data suggest the cutaneous and oral routes as the main ports of entry for the organism, which later spreads hematogenously throughout the body. Even though histopathological assessment of infected fish revealed involvement of a wide range of tissues, the severity of the necrotizing and granulomatous lesions in the spleen and head kidney, with concomitant high levels of bacterial DNA in these organs determined by qPCR, identifies them as the main targets of infection.