Identification of bacteria from aquatic animals

A wide range of aquatic animal species are cultured for human consumption, the fashion industry, research purposes or re-stocking natural populations. Each host species may be colonised by bacterial saprophytes or infected with pathogens that have specific growth requirements encompassing temperature, salinity, trace elements or ions. To ensure successful culture and identification of potential pathogens, the microbiologist must have in-depth knowledge of these growth requirements and access to the appropriate resources. Identification techniques include traditional culture and biochemical identification methods modified to take into account any growth requirements, identification usingmass spectrometry, detection of nucleic acids, sequencing 16S rRNA or specific genes, and whole genome sequencing.