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Adhesion of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum to unfertilized eggs of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) and n‐hexadecane
Author(s) -
Vatsos I.N.,
Thompson K.D.,
Adams A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2001.00980.x
Subject(s) - rainbow trout , biology , flavobacterium , cytophaga , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , pathogen , trout , fish <actinopterygii> , pseudomonas , fishery , genetics
Aims: The ability of Flavobacterium psychrophilum , the causative agent of rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS) in fish, to attach to unfertilized rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) eggs and to hydrocarbon n‐hexadecane was examined in the present study. Methods and Results: Five different isolates of Fl. psychrophilum obtained from a variety of origins were compared. The effect of the age of the bacterium and conditions of starvation on the ability of the bacterium to adhere, were also evaluated. Conclusions: The different isolates were found to exhibit a similar ability to attach to both substrates. Increased surface hydrophobicity and a greater ability to attach to the surface of the eggs were observed with bacteria aged for one month, compared to bacteria cultured in Cytophaga agar for only three days. Significance and Impact of the Study: These results provide useful information regarding the pathogenicity of RTFS, especially during the initial steps of infection.