DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOLOGICAL CONTROL APPROACH BASED ON VIBRIO SPECIFIC BACTERIOPHAGE IN MARINE AQUACULTURE

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world. This important industry is heavily affected by infectious diseases which impose major yield-limiting effects on production. Moreover, certain fish pathogens can cause zoonotic diseases, affecting the safety of both workers and consumers .Industry-wide losses caused by aquatic animal pathogenicity exceed US$6 billion per annum. The use of antibiotics is the current solution either for curbing outbreaks or as a prophylactic treatment. However, severe overuse in the last decades has resulted in the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARBs). Vibrio are a genus of a Gram-negative bacteria. Some Vibrio species can cause foodborne infection, usually associated with eating undercooked seafood, primarily V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. alginolyticus. Bacteriophage-based treatment could serve as a lower-risk method thanks to the selective effect on the pathogen without harming the surrounding microbiota. We used the plaque assay methodology for the isolation of Vibrio-specific bacteriophages from aquaculture systems and fish mucus. We then inspected the ability of the bacteriophages to protect Artemia salina (model host) from Vibrio infection. Our results show that the bacteriophages which were isolated in our lab have the ability to postpone the onset of disease, protect the Artemia and prolong its life. Additionally we found that both temperature and carbon concentrations have an effect on the Vibrio’s virulence and therefore on the Artemia survival rate. According to the results we can consider the use of bacteriophages as a prophylactic treatment against Vibrio and other pathogens in marine aquaculture.