Vibrio Related Diseases in Aquaculture and Development of Rapid and Accurate Identification Methods

Abstract

Vibrio spp. are the most common and serious pathogen in fish and shellfish marine aquaculture worldwide . Vibriosis is a common disease caused by a number of Vibrio spp. viz. V. harveyi, V. parahaemolyticus, V. alginolyticus, V. anguillarum, V. vulnificus etc. The plastic nature of Vibrio genomes makes the species boundaries very narrow in a marine environment; therefore accurate species identification is complicated for any taxonomist. Traditional bacterial identification has been based on different phenotypic characteristics. However, with the advancement of molecular biology, arrays of genomic techniques have been developed for correct and rapid species identification in aquaculture. Among DNA-sequence-based identification, 16S rRNA and housekeeping genes are most popularly used. Other common methods for Vibrio identification include ribotyping and PCR-based techniques such as . Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH), Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), repetitive extragenic palindrome–PCR (rep-PCR), and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). Molecular methods have slowly established a place in the diagnosis of disease- causing pathogens in aquaculture. In the present study a detailed review was undertaken to highlight common aquaculturerelated diseases caused by different Vibrio species and some of the common molecular techniques used to identify those pathogens.