Skin-mucus microbiome of Atlantic salmon in response to tenacibaculosis

The objective of this study was to understand the effects of tenacibaculosis, caused by the bacterium Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi, on the skin-associated microbiome of Atlantic salmon. We used a vector-free and waterborne infection model of T. dicentrarchi TdCh05 in Atlantic salmon smolts for 21 days. Skin swab samples were collected at 2 hours and 21 days after infection for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing using DNA or complementary DNA (cDNA) as templates. 16S cDNA-based sequencing indicated that the potential activity of the Atlantic salmon skin-associated microbiome during disease progression was primarily driven by Tenacibaculum spp. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of other potentially active components (e.g., Pseudomonadales) of the skin-associated microbiome in the onset and/or progression of tenacibaculosis.