Comparison of intestinal bacterial communities in asymptomatic and diseased Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) with mixed bacterial infections

Asymptomatic and diseased fish were collected during a three-week period after a mass mortality event occurred for a cohort of juvenile Asian seabass stocking in a commercial local fish farm. PCR and histopathology diagnostic analysis of kidney and water samples revealed the primary causative pathogens were bacteria species including big belly bacterias, streptococcus iniae and Vibrio harveyi. Comparative analysis of gut microbiota community between asymptomatic and diseased fish revealed significant differences in microbial composition and function between the two groups. Reduced diversity of gut microbiota composition was observed in diseased fish.