title: Role of shellfish hatchery as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
abstract: The main aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of resistant bacteria in florfenicol-treated and untreated scallop larval cultures from a commercial hatchery and to characterize some selected florfenicol-resistant strains. Larval cultures from untreated and treated rearing tanks exhibited percentages of copiotrophic bacteria resistant to florfenicol ranging from 0.03% to 10.67% and 0.49-18.34%, respectively, whereas florfenicol resistance among oligotrophic bacteria varied from 1.44% to 35.50% and 3.62-95.71%, from untreated and treated larvae, respectively. Florfenicol resistant microbiota from reared scallop larvae mainly belonged to the Pseudomonas and Pseudoalteromonas genus and were mainly resistant to florfenicol, chloramphenicol, streptomycin and co-trimoxazole. This is the first study reporting antimicrobial resistant bacteria associated to a shellfish hatchery and the results suggest that a continuous surveillance of antimicrobial resistance even in absence of antibacterial therapy is urgently required to evaluate potential undesirable consequences on the surrounding environments.
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Pathobiology Laboratory, Department of Aquaculture, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1281 Larrondo Street, Coquimbo, Chile; Centro de Estudios Avanzados (CEAZA), 1281 Larrondo Street, Coquimbo, Chile. Electronic address: cdmirand@ucn.cl.
authors.forename: Claudio D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geisse
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: González
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D049897:Pectinidae / Q000254:growth & development*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012758:Shellfish / Q000382:microbiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014871:Water Microbiology
keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Chile; Florfenicol; Hatchery; Heterotrophic bacteria; Scallop culture