title: Virulence properties, biofilm formation and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae isolates from cultured sea bream (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).
abstract: Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae has been isolated from different outbreaks affecting cultured Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax. The aim of the present study was to characterize the phenotype and genotype of 12 P. damselae subsp. damselae strains isolated from these outbreaks. The roles of skin mucus in resistance to the initial infection steps have been studied. All tested strains resisted the bactericidal activity of the mucus and showed an ability to adhere to it, but only those showing hemolytic activity were found to be virulent by intraperitoneal injection. Phenotypic and genetic characterization revealed a considerable degree of variability within the subspecies. We found that RAPD-PCR represents a quick tool to generate information on intraspecific differences in environmental strains. We found, that some biotypes are more pathogenic than others, which by doing correlation between adhesion profile, enzymatic and hemolytic activity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Analyse, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l'Environnement et des Produits, Département de Microbiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia. Electronic address: Khouadja_sadok@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Sadok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khouadja
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Analyse, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l'Environnement et des Produits, Département de Microbiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Faouzi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lamari
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Analyse, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l'Environnement et des Produits, Département de Microbiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhrouf
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Analyse, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l'Environnement et des Produits, Département de Microbiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Kamel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gaddour
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001492:Bass / Q000382:microbiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009093:Mucus / Q000378:metabolism; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins
keywords: Biofilm; Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae; RAPD; Virulence properties