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Article

Genomic Diversity and Taxonomy of Aeromonas spp. in Aquarium Fish: Potential Role of Ornamental Fish as Hidden Carriers

by
Muhammed Duman
1,†,
Nihed Ajmi
1,
Hector Carmona-Salido
2,3,
Görkem Tasci
1,
Artun Yıbar
4,
Soner Altun
1,
Jesús L. Romalde
2,3,*,† and
Izzet Burcin Saticioglu
1,5
1
Department of Aquatic Animal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Turkey
2
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Centre for Biological Research of the USC (CIBUS)-Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
3
CRETUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
4
Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Turkey
5
Institute of Aquaculture, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this study.
Fishes 2026, 11(2), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11020074
Submission received: 24 December 2025 / Revised: 20 January 2026 / Accepted: 22 January 2026 / Published: 23 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection and Detection of Bacterial Pathogens in Aquaculture)
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Abstract

Aquarium fish are increasingly being recognized as reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, with Aeromonas species posing a notable risk because of their environmental resilience and opportunistic pathogenicity. This study presents the most comprehensive genome-based investigation to date of Aeromonas diversity in aquarium fish, aiming to characterize their taxonomic distribution, population structure, and genomic features. A total of 64 Aeromonas isolates were collected from various aquarium fish species. Wholegenome sequencing was conducted on all isolates to facilitate comparative genomic analyses. Key approaches included multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pairwise Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH), and the construction of a phylogenomic tree for species-level classification. Furthermore, a population structure analysis was performed to explore genomic diversity and evolutionary trends among the isolates. The results identified 14 distinct Aeromonas species, with A. veronii, A. caviae, and A. hydrophila being the most common. Importantly, several isolates exhibited taxonomic ambiguity, indicating the possible presence of new species or subspecies lineages. Furthermore, antimicrobial resistance gene profiles and virulence factor distributions varied significantly across clades, indicating genomic plasticity. This study highlights the underappreciated genomic complexity of Aeromonas populations in aquarium environments and raises concerns about the public health implications of pathogen reservoirs in ornamental fish.
Keywords: genomic diversity; aquaculture; fish disease; ornamental fish; MLST genomic diversity; aquaculture; fish disease; ornamental fish; MLST

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MDPI and ACS Style

Duman, M.; Ajmi, N.; Carmona-Salido, H.; Tasci, G.; Yıbar, A.; Altun, S.; Romalde, J.L.; Saticioglu, I.B. Genomic Diversity and Taxonomy of Aeromonas spp. in Aquarium Fish: Potential Role of Ornamental Fish as Hidden Carriers. Fishes 2026, 11, 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11020074

AMA Style

Duman M, Ajmi N, Carmona-Salido H, Tasci G, Yıbar A, Altun S, Romalde JL, Saticioglu IB. Genomic Diversity and Taxonomy of Aeromonas spp. in Aquarium Fish: Potential Role of Ornamental Fish as Hidden Carriers. Fishes. 2026; 11(2):74. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11020074

Chicago/Turabian Style

Duman, Muhammed, Nihed Ajmi, Hector Carmona-Salido, Görkem Tasci, Artun Yıbar, Soner Altun, Jesús L. Romalde, and Izzet Burcin Saticioglu. 2026. "Genomic Diversity and Taxonomy of Aeromonas spp. in Aquarium Fish: Potential Role of Ornamental Fish as Hidden Carriers" Fishes 11, no. 2: 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11020074

APA Style

Duman, M., Ajmi, N., Carmona-Salido, H., Tasci, G., Yıbar, A., Altun, S., Romalde, J. L., & Saticioglu, I. B. (2026). Genomic Diversity and Taxonomy of Aeromonas spp. in Aquarium Fish: Potential Role of Ornamental Fish as Hidden Carriers. Fishes, 11(2), 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11020074

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