Deciphering the molecular basis for attenuation of Flavobacterium columnare strain 17-23 used as modified live vaccine against columnaris disease

One of the main diseases affecting catfish aquaculture is columnaris disease, caused by the bacterial pathogen Flavobacterium columnare. Our group developed a modified-live vaccine against columnaris disease by selecting mutants that were resistant to rifampin. To understand the molecular basis for attenuation, we sequenced the mutant attenuated strain (Fc1723) using PacBio sequencing platform.