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THE BACTERIAL FLORA OF PUGET SOUND FISH
Author(s) -
COLWELL RITA R.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1962.tb01131.x
Subject(s) - biology , vibrio , micrococcus , flora (microbiology) , gill , otter , bacillus (shape) , flavobacterium , zoology , microbiology and biotechnology , achromobacter , pseudomonas , fish <actinopterygii> , bacteria , ecology , fishery , genetics
Summary Several species of marine fish were sampled bacteriologically to determine the bacterial types associated with the skin, gills, gut and mouth of the animals. Analysis of the total sample distribution of 311 pure cultures showed that Pseudomonas species composed 44–48% of the floras of all the areas except the mouth, where they comprised 68% of the flora, and Achromobacter and Micrococcus made up about 17% and 6%, respectively, of the floras from the several sites. A pleomorphic, coccoid, fermentative Vibrio type was found in greatest numbers in the gut, although it was present on the gills and, less frequently, on the skin. The biochemical and physiological characteristics of the organisms isolated suggest that detectable differences exist among the bacterial populations from the skin, gills, gut and mouth. Fish caught in the water of Puget Sound by hand line, deep water otter trawl, inshore otter trawl, beach seine and purse seine were examined bacteriologically to determine the effects of catching method on the qualitative distribution of types, and 299 pure cultures were isolated and extensively tested. The hand line samples yielded a flora consisting predominantly of Pseudomonas and Achromobacter , though Micrococcus and Flavobacterium were present in significant numbers. Some differences were observed between the bacterial populations of the fish captured by the other methods, particularly in the presence of Bacillus and Corynebacterium and of miscellaneous types. These differences, in general, could be attributed to the catching operation.