Occurrence of Vibrio spp. along the Algerian Mediterranean coast in wild and farmed Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax

Prevalence, genetic diversity, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Vibrio spp. infected gilthead sea breams from coastal farms at Damietta, Egypt

BACKGROUND

Vibriosis is one of the most serious bacterial diseases and causes high morbidity and mortality among cultured sea breams. This study was undertaken to track the surveillance of Vibrio infection and its correlation to environmental factors. A total of 115 gilthead sea breams were collected seasonally from a private earthen pond fish farm in the Shatta area of Damietta, Egypt from September 2022 to July 2023. Physicochemical parameters of water were analyzed, and heavy metal levels were measured. The fish samples were subjected to clinical, bacteriological, Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) fingerprinting, and hematoxylin and Eosin histopathological staining.

RESULTS

The results revealed significant variations in the water quality parameters over different seasons, in addition to an increase in heavy metals. Naturally infected fish showed external signs and postmortem lesions that were relevant to bacterial infection. Two dominant Vibrio subspecies of bacteria were identified: V. alginolyticus (205 isolates) and V. fluvialis (87 isolates). PCR confirmed the presence of V. alginolyticus using the species-specific primer collagenase at 737 bp. The highest prevalence of V. alginolyticus was detected during the summer season (57.72%), and the lowest prevalence was observed in autumn (39.75%). The correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between V. alginolyticus and water temperature (r = 0.69). On the other hand, V. fluvialis showed a high prevalence during the autumn season (25.30%) and the lowest prevalence during the summer season (10.56%), where it was negatively correlated with water temperatures (r =-0.03). ERIC fingerprinting showed genetic variation within the Vibrio isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed sensitivity to ciprofloxacin and doxycycline, and resistance to amoxicillin and erythromycin. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index values for V. alginolyticus and V. fluvialis ranged from 0.3 to 0.7, with a multi-drug resistance pattern to at least three antibiotics. Histopathological alterations in the affected tissues revealed marked hemorrhage, vascular congestion, and hemosiderosis infiltration.

CONCLUSION

This study provides insights into the potential propagation of waterborne diseases and antibiotic resistance in the environment. Ensuring that the environment does not serve as a reservoir for virulent and contagious Vibrio species is a critical concern for regional aquaculture industries. Therefore, we recommend implementing environmental context-specific monitoring and surveillance tools for microbial resistance.

Bacterial diseases in marine fish species: current trends and future prospects in disease management

The fisheries sub-sector of aquaculture-i.e., the pisciculture industry, contributes significantly to a country's economy, employing a sizable proportion of the population. It also makes important contributions to household food security because the current demand for animal protein cannot be fulfilled by harvesting wild fish from riverines, lakes, dams, and oceans. For good pond management techniques and sustaining fish health, the fisherfolk, and the industry require well-established regulatory structures, efficient disease management strategies, and other extended services. In rearing marine fish, infections resulting from disease outbreaks are a weighty concern because they can cause considerable economic loss due to morbidity and mortality. Consequently, to find effective solutions for the prevention and control of the major diseases limiting fish production in aquaculture, multidisciplinary studies on the traits of potential fish pathogens, the biology of the fish as hosts, and an adequate understanding of the global environmental factors are fundamental. This review highlights the various bacterial diseases and their causative pathogens prevalent in the pisciculture industry and the current solutions while emphasising marine fish species. Given that preexisting methods are known to have several disadvantages, other sustainable alternatives like antimicrobial peptides, synthetic peptides, probiotics, and medicinal treatments have emerged to be an enormous potential solution to these challenges.

Pathogenic and Opportunistic Vibrio spp. Associated with Vibriosis Incidences in the Greek Aquaculture: The Role of Vibrio harveyi as the Principal Cause of Vibriosis

A monitoring program to follow vibriosis incidents in the Greek marine aquaculture was implemented over the past 13 years. 273 isolates, from various cases originating from eight regions and nine hosts, were collected and characterized. The main aquaculture species of the survey were the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Various species of Vibrionaceae were associated with vibriosis. Vibrio harveyi had the highest prevalence and was isolated throughout the year from all hosts. During the warm months, Vibrio harveyi prevailed with frequent co-isolations of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae and Vibrio alginolyticus, while during spring, other Vibrio species were more abundant, such as Vibrio lentus, Vibrio cyclitrophicus, and Vibrio gigantis. Phylogenetic analysis using the mreB gene and the metabolic fingerprint of the isolates showed great variability within the species of the collection. The severity of the disease and the frequency of outbreaks make vibriosis (that is, mainly attributed to V. harveyi) an important concern for the regional aquaculture sector.

A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the global prevalence of foodborne Vibrio spp. infection in fishes: A persistent public health concern

Human vibriosis, caused by pathogenic Vibrio spp., such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus, has been increasing worldwide, mediated by increasing consumption of seafood. The present study was conducted to examine the global prevalence of V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholerae in fishes. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CNKI for peer-reviewed articles and dissertations prior to December 31, 2021. A total of 24,831 articles were retrieved, and 82 articles contained 61 fish families were included. The global pooled prevalence of V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in fishes was 9.56 % (95 % CI: 2.12-20.92), 24.77 % (95 % CI: 17.40-32.93) and 5.29 % (95 % CI: 0.38-13.61), respectively. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses showed that study-level covariates, including temperature, country, continent, origin and detection methods partly explained the between-study heterogeneity. These heterogeneities were underpinned by differences of the three Vibrio spp. in fishes at geographical and climatic scales. These results reveal a high global prevalence of pathogenic Vibrio spp. in fishes and highlight the need for implementation of more effective prevention and control measures to reduce food-borne infection in humans.

Quality index method developed for raw anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) stored in ice

The quality index method (QIM) is a widely accepted solution to establish the state of fish freshness quickly and effectively. The present study aims to determine increasingly reliable freshness parameters for fresh and whole Lophius piscatorius stored in ice. Sensory and microbiological analyses were performed on 148 anglerfishes. Sensory evaluations were performed based on the QIM, updating a previously proposed quality index (QI) scheme. Total viable count and specific spoilage organisms were determined through microbiological analyses of the tail musculature, evaluating their correlations with the QI scores over time. The updated QI scheme included 3 characters, namely appearance, eye, and fin, for a total of 18 demerits points. A positive linear correlation between QI score and storage time was observed such that the sensory rejection time (8th day) can be predicted within ± 1 day with the developed scheme. At the sensory rejection point, loads of the spoilage microbial flora were not high enough to be relatable to the appreciated alterations probably due to the anglerfish morphology in which the tail musculature is isolated from the gills and viscera, the main sources of bacterial contamination. The proposed scheme offers a ready-to-use freshness assessment of the anglerfish although further validations are needed.

Vibriosis Outbreaks in Aquaculture: Addressing Environmental and Public Health Concerns and Preventive Therapies Using Gilthead Seabream Farming as a Model System

Bacterial and viral diseases in aquaculture result in severe production and economic losses. Among pathogenic bacteria, species belonging to the Vibrio genus are one of the most common and widespread disease-causing agents. Vibrio infections play a leading role in constraining the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector worldwide and, consequently, are the target of manifold disease prevention strategies. During the early, larval stages of development, Vibrio species are a common cause of high mortality rates in reared fish and shellfish, circumstances under which the host organisms might be highly susceptible to disease preventive or treatment strategies such as vaccines and antibiotics use, respectively. Regardless of host developmental stage, Vibrio infections may occur suddenly and can lead to the loss of the entire population reared in a given aquaculture system. Furthermore, the frequency of Vibrio-associated diseases in humans is increasing globally and has been linked to anthropic activities, in particular human-driven climate change and intensive livestock production. In this context, here we cover the current knowledge of Vibrio infections in fish aquaculture, with a focus on the model species gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a highly valuable reared fish in the Mediterranean climatic zone. Molecular methods currently used for fast detection and identification of Vibrio pathogens and their antibiotic resistance profiles are addressed. Targeted therapeutic approaches are critically examined. They include vaccination, phage therapy and probiotics supplementation, which bear promise in supressing vibriosis in land-based fish rearing and in mitigating possible threats to human health and the environment. This literature review suggests that antibiotic resistance is increasing among Vibrio species, with the use of probiotics constituting a promising, sustainable approach to prevent Vibrio infections in aquaculture.

Characterizing the Effect of the Lysine Deacetylation Modification on Enzyme Activity of Pyruvate Kinase I and Pathogenicity of Vibrio alginolyticus

Pyruvate kinase I (PykF) is one of the key enzymes of glycolysis and plays a crucial role in bacterial metabolism. Several acetylation sites of Vibrio alginolyticus PykF were reported in previous studies and then 11 sites were first verified in this study, however, the specific roles of PykF acetylation remains unclear. Overlap-PCR and homologous recombination were implied to delete V. alginolyticus pykF gene and constructed complementary strains of site-directed mutagenesis for the further research focus on the deacetylation regulation on PykF. The results showed that the pyruvate kinase activity was sharply suppressed in the deacetylation status of K52, K68, and K317 of PykF, as well as the extracellular protease activity was significantly decreased in the deacetylation status of K52 and K68, but not induced with K317. Moreover, the growth rates of V. alginolyticus were not influenced with these three deacetylation sites. The ΔpykF mutant exhibited a 6-fold reduction in virulence to zebrafish. Site-directed mutations of K52R and K68R also showed reduced virulence while mutations of K317R didn't. The in vitro experiments showed that PykF was acetylated by acetyl phosphate (AcP), with the increase of incubation time by AcP, the acetylation level of PykF increased while the enzyme activity of PykF decreased correspondingly. Besides, PykF was deacetylated by CobB deacetylase and in result that the deacetylation was significantly down-regulated while the pyruvate kinase activity of PykF increased. Moreover, deletion of cobB gene had no significant difference in pyruvate kinase activity. These results confirm that CobB can regulate the acetylation level and pyruvate kinase activity of PykF. In summary, the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for further understanding of the deacetylation modification of PykF. It provides a new idea for the prevention and cure of vibriosis.

Microplastics in vacuum packages of frozen and glazed icefish (Neosalanx spp.): A freshwater fish intended for human consumption

It is widely accepted that human is exposed to microplastics through food consumption, however data occurrence in foodstuffs are still little and basically limited to seafood. In this study, the presence of microplastics was investigated in icefish (Neosalanx spp.) samples sourced from various mass-market retailers in Italy, supplied as frozen, glazed and vacuum-packed product. Icefish is a small freshwater fish widely imported in Europe from China as surrogate of other fish species subjected to commercial restriction, consumed whole after cooking in several culinary preparation. The samples (~10 g of icefish from each of the 40 packs tested) were digested using a solution of 10% potassium hydroxide and filtered through a 5 μm pore-size filter. Filters of the samples were observed under a stereomicroscope and the chemical composition of the items detected were analysed by FTIR spectroscopy. A total of 163 items were counted in 37 (92.5%) samples with a mean value of 0.42±0.28 items/g w.w. Fibers were the most detected morphotype and several plastic polymers, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene, were identified by FT-IR analysis. As store-bought samples, the sources of microplastics could be substantially related to contamination during food processing. However, an intravital exposure to microplastics present in the surroundings waters cannot be ruled out. More foodstuffs need to be investigated for microplastic presence. In this study, microplastic occurrence was reported in freshwater biota intended for human consumption sampled directly from supermarket contributing to the risk assessment of human exposure to microplastics via food consumption.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Aquaculture and Climate Change: A Challenge for Health in the Mediterranean Area

Aquaculture is the productive activity that will play a crucial role in the challenges of the millennium, such as the need for proteins that support humans and the respect for the environment. Aquaculture is an important economic activity in the Mediterranean basin. A great impact is presented, however, by aquaculture practices as they involve the use of antibiotics for treatment and prophylaxis. As a consequence of the use of antibiotics in aquaculture, antibiotic resistance is induced in the surrounding bacteria in the column water, sediment, and fish-associated bacterial strains. Through horizontal gene transfer, bacteria can diffuse antibiotic-resistance genes and mobile resistance genes further spreading genetic determinants. Once triggered, antibiotic resistance easily spreads among aquatic microbial communities and, from there, can reach human pathogenic bacteria, making vain the use of antibiotics for human health. Climate change claims a significant role in this context, as rising temperatures can affect cell physiology in bacteria in the same way as antibiotics, causing antibiotic resistance to begin with. The Mediterranean Sea represents a 'hot spot' in terms of climate change and aspects of antibiotic resistance in aquaculture in this area can be significantly amplified, thus increasing threats to human health. Practices must be adopted to counteract negative impacts on human health, with a reduction in the use of antibiotics as a pivotal point. In the meantime, it is necessary to act against climate change by reducing anthropogenic impacts, for example by reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The One Health type approach, which involves the intervention of different skills, such as veterinary, ecology, and medicine in compliance with the principles of sustainability, is necessary and strongly recommended to face these important challenges for human and animal health, and for environmental safety in the Mediterranean area.