Antibacterial Effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MB I-3 against Listonella anguillarum

To study the possible use of probiotics in fish farming, The in vitro and in vivo antibacterial effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MB I-3 (MB I-3) against the fish pathogenic bacterium Listonella anguillarum were evaluated. The inhibitory effects of MB I-3 against vibrios were investigated by the double layer method and the co-culture. The results showed that MB I-3 inhibited the growth of pathogenic vibrios including Listonella anguillarum, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio fluvialis, Vibrio furnissii, Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus. Extracellular substances obtained from the cultural supernatant of MB I-3 by ethyl acetate extraction showed inhibitory effects on L. anguillarum. The antibacterial substance of MB I-3 was evaluated to destroy the cell membrane of L. anguillarum in electron micrographs. The probiotic effects of MB I-3 was tested by exposing olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) fry to L. anguillarum with or without MB I-3. The cumulative mortality of olive flounder fry infected with L. anguillarum was 24% in the group with MB I-3, while it was 46% in the control group without MB I-3. These results indicate that MB I-3 has potential applications as a probiotic for the control of fish pathogenic vibrios in fish rearing system.