Aeromonas schubertii: A potential pathogen for freshwater cultured whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus vannamei

Abstract

Bacteriosis has become a major global economic problem in freshwater farmed whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei. However, limited information is available on the incidence of Aeromonas schubertii infections in freshwater cultured P. vannamei. Red body disease, an epidemic frequently associated with P. vannamei freshwater farming, occurred in a P. vannamei farm in Shanghai China in June 2013. A pathogenic strain of A. schubertii (isolate HS1) was isolated from diseased freshwater cultured P. vannamei suffering from red body disease, and identified through phylogenetic analysis and phenotypic characteristics. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to examine the relatedness of isolate HS1 with other A. schubertii isolates. In addition, isolate HS1 showed no signs developing antibiotic resistance when screened against a range of common antibiotics used in aquaculture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of A. schubertii infection in freshwater farmed P. vannamei.