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Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

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DAO 96:221-227 (2011)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02371

Adhesion dynamics of Flavobacterium columnare to channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and zebrafish Danio rerio after immersion challenge

Oscar Olivares-Fuster1, Stephen A. Bullard2, Andrew McElwain2, Maria Jose Llosa3, Covadonga R. Arias1,*

1Aquatic Microbiology Laboratory and 2Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA
3Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, Carretera Moncada-Naquera S/N, Valencia, Spain

ABSTRACT: The adhesion dynamics of Flavobacterium columnare to fish tissues were evaluated in vivo by immersion challenge followed by bacterial plate count and confirmatory observations of gill-adhered bacterial cells using scanning electron microscopy. Adhesion of F. columnare genomovar I (ARS-1) and II (BGFS-27) strains to skin and gill of channel catfish Ictalurus punctactus and gill of zebrafish Danio rerio was compared. At 0.5 h post-challenge, both strains adhered to gill of channel catfish at comparable levels (106 colony forming units [CFU] g–1), but significant differences in adhesion were found later in the time course. Channel catfish was able to effectively reduce ARS-1 cells on gill, whereas BGFS-27 persisted in gill beyond the first 24 h post-challenge. No significant difference was found between both strains when adhered to skin, but adhered cell numbers were lower (103 CFU g–1) than those found in gill and were not detectable at 6 h post-challenge. Adhesion of BGFS-27 cells to gill of zebrafish also occurred at high numbers (>106 CFU g–1), while only <102 CFU g–1 of ARS-1 cells were detected in this fish. The results of the present study show that particular strains of F. columnare exhibit different levels of specificity to their fish hosts and that adhesion to fish tissues is not sufficient to cause columnaris disease


KEY WORDS: Adhesion · Columnaris disease · Flavobacterium columnare · Host–pathogen ­specificity


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Cite this article as: Olivares-Fuster O, Bullard SA, McElwain A, Llosa MJ, Arias CR (2011) Adhesion dynamics of Flavobacterium columnare to channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and zebrafish Danio rerio after immersion challenge. Dis Aquat Org 96:221-227. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02371

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