Isolation and Identification of Tenacibaculum maritimum, the Causative Agent of Tenacibaculosis in Farmed Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) on the Aegean Sea Coast of Turkey

Abstract

In this paper we describe the isolation and identification of Tenacibaculum maritimum from infected sea bass by using bacteriological, histopathological, and molecular methods. Fish were reared in five different floating net cage farms and two hatcheries located in several regions on the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey. We observed external erythemic and erosive jaw and operculum superficial or deep ulcerative skin lesions on the head and body surfaces, gill rot, hemorrhagic and erythemic fins in infected individuals, and slight exophthalmia was also detected. In addition, internal hemorrhages and hyperemia in the visceral organs and bloody fluid in the peritoneal cavity were observed.