Live Feeds Used in the Larval Culture of Red Cusk Eel, Genypterus chilensis, Carry High Levels of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic-Resistance Genes (ARGs)
by
Luz Hurtado 1, Claudio D. Miranda 2,3,*, Rodrigo Rojas 2,3, Félix A. Godoy 4, 
Mark A. Añazco 4 and Jaime Romero 5
Luz Hurtado 1, Claudio D. Miranda 2,3,*, Rodrigo Rojas 2,3, Félix A. Godoy 4, Mark A. Añazco 4 and Jaime Romero 5
1
Programa Cooperativo de Doctorado en Acuicultura, Departamento de Acuicultura, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile
2
Laboratorio de Patobiología Acuática, Departamento de Acuicultura, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile
3
Centro AquaPacífico, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile
4
Centro i~mar, Universidad de Los Lagos, Puerto Montt 5480000, Chile
5
Laboratorio de Biotecnología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos (INTA), Universidad de Chile, Macul, Santiago 7810000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2020, 10(3), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030505
Received: 19 January 2020 / Revised: 29 February 2020 / Accepted: 10 March 2020 / Published: 18 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
Simple Summary
The culture of the marine fish red cusk eel Genypterus chilensis is currently considered a priority for Chilean aquaculture but low larval survival rates have prompted the need for the continuous use of antibiotics, mainly florfenicol. In this study, the role of live prey (rotifers and the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana) used to feed fish larvae as a source of antibacterial-resistant bacteria in a commercial culture of G. chilensis was investigated. Samples of live feeds were collected during the larval growth period and their bacterial contents were determined. High levels of potentially opportunistic pathogens, such as Vibrio spp., as well as florfenicol-resistant bacteria, were detected. Sixty-five florfenicol-resistant isolates were recovered from these cultures and identified as Vibrio (81.5%) and Pseudoalteromonas (15.4%), which exhibited a high incidence of co-resistance to the antibiotics streptomycin, oxytetracycline, co-trimoxazole, and kanamycin. The majority of them carried the florfenicol-resistance encoding genes floR and fexA. The high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the associated genetic elements in live feed administered to reared fish larvae requires the prompt implementation of efficient management strategies to prevent future therapy failures in fish larval cultures and the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to associated aquatic environments.
The culture of red cusk eel Genypterus chilensis is currently considered a priority for Chilean aquaculture but low larval survival rates have prompted the need for the continuous use of antibacterials. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the role of live feed as a source of antibacterial-resistant bacteria in a commercial culture of G. chilensis. Samples of rotifer and Artemia cultures used as live feed were collected during the larval growth period and culturable bacterial counts were performed using a spread plate method. Rotifer and Artemia cultures exhibited high levels of resistant bacteria (8.03 × 104 to 1.79 × 107 CFU/g and 1.47 × 106 to 3.50 × 108 CFU/g, respectively). Sixty-five florfenicol-resistant isolates were identified as Vibrio (81.5%) and Pseudoalteromonas (15.4%) using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. A high incidence of resistance to streptomycin (93.8%), oxytetracycline (89.2%), co-trimoxazole (84.6%), and kanamycin (73.8%) was exhibited by resistant isolates. A high proportion of isolates (76.9%) carried the florfenicol-resistance encoding genes floR and fexA, as well as plasmid DNA (75.0%). The high prevalence of multiresistant bacteria in live feed increases the incidence of the resistant microbiota in reared fish larvae, thus proper monitoring and management strategies for live feed cultures appear to be a priority for preventing future therapy failures in fish larval cultures.
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Keywords:
resistant bacteria; red cusk eel; Genypterus chilensis; florfenicol; vibrios; live feed; rotifer; Artemia; floR; fexA
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hurtado, L.; Miranda, C.D.; Rojas, R.; Godoy, F.A.; Añazco, M.A.; Romero, J. Live Feeds Used in the Larval Culture of Red Cusk Eel, Genypterus chilensis, Carry High Levels of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic-Resistance Genes (ARGs). Animals 2020, 10, 505.
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