Survival, persistence and proliferation of Vibrio anguillarum in juvenile turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.), intestine and faeces

The aim of this study was to determine whether orally administered V. anguillarum cells could survive passage through the intestinal tract of feeding turbot, and thereafter, proliferate in the released faeces. In addition, the growth of the pathogen in turbot faeces in the presence of a Carnobacterium sp. with inhibitory effects against a number of bacterial fish pathogens was studied. It was found that V. anguillarum cells survived the acidic environment of the stomach for several hours, persisted in the intestine and readily proliferated in the released faeces. The antagonistic Carnobacterium sp. inhibited the growth of V. anguillarum during co-culture in turbot faecal extracts. From the results, it was concluded that the turbot intestinal tract and faeces can serve as an enrichment site for V. anguillarum, and the use of intestinal bacteria with antagonistic activity against vibrios may be used to reduce the load of fish pathogenic vibrios in turbot hatcheries.