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Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation
Published on: October 31, 2019
Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate-accumulating bacteria protect gnotobiotic Artemia franciscana from pathogenic Vibrio
Dirk Halet1, Tom Defoirdt, Petra Van Damme
1Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
A poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)-accumulating enrichment culture was obtained using activated sludge from a polyphosphate-accumulating reactor as inoculum. PHB accumulated by the enrichment culture significantly enhanced the survival of Artemia nauplii, infected with the virulent pathogen Vibrio campbellii LMG 21363. A strain was isolated from the enrichment culture, based on its ability to accumulate PHB, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the isolate revealed 99% sequence similarity to Brachymonas denitrificans AS-P1. The isolate, named PHB2, showed good PHB-accumulating activity (up to 32% of the cell dry weight). PHB accumulated by isolate PHB2 was able to protect Artemia completely from the V. campbellii strain. Our data indicate that PHB-accumulating bacteria, such as B. denitrificans PHB2, could be used as an an effective and economically interesting alternative strategy to control infections in aquaculture.
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