Isolation of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae from zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum

Abstract

The zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum which had been reared in the commercial aquaria was found dead and submitted for postmortem examination. A pure bacterial culture was isolated from pale and enlarged liver. The analysis of ureC and 16S rRNA genes confirmed the isolate as Photobacterium (P.) damselae subsp. damselae and this pathogen was sensitive to gentamicin. Although, no mortality in mouse was observed in the experimental infection study, the isolation of this pathogen in aquarium fish is significant because it can act as a reservoir to other aquatic animals and can also be zoonotic potential to human during aquarium management. This paper describes the first isolation of P. damselae subsp. damselae from zebra shark.