Survey of Antibiotic-producing Bacteria Associated with the Epidermal Mucus Layers of Rays and Skates.

Kim B Ritchie,Joseph Mueller,Valeri A Lapacek,Daniel Merselis,Melbert Schwarz,Carl A Luer,Catherine J Walsh

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.01050

Abstract

Elasmobranchs represent a distinct group of cartilaginous fishes that harbor a remarkable ability to heal wounds rapidly and without infection. To date very little work has addressed this phenomenon although it is suggested that antibiotic capabilities associated with epidermal surfaces may be a factor. The study of benefits derived from mutualistic interactions between unicellular and multicellular organisms is a rapidly growing area of research. Here we survey and identify bacterial associates of three ray and one skate species in order to assess the potential for antibiotic production from elasmobranch associated bacteria as a novel source for new antibiotics.

Highlights

Marine bacteria are genetically and metabolically diverse, capable of producing a wide range of chemical compounds, and are known to establish symbioses with a range of marine organisms (Bhatnagar and Kim, 2010; Sobhana, 2015)
Increasing studies illustrate that bacteria produce chemical compounds that were previously ascribed to marine hosts, providing bioactive compounds for utilization in host defenses (Chau et al, 2013; Abdelmohsen et al, 2014)
Studies in corals have shown that antibiotic activity is present in the surface mucus of healthy corals (Ritchie, 2006) greater than 20% of bacteria isolated from the mucus of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, demonstrated antibiotic activity against a range of pathogenic test strains and 8% were active against a pathogen that causes disease in this species (Ritchie, 2006)

Summary

Introduction

Marine bacteria are genetically and metabolically diverse, capable of producing a wide range of chemical compounds, and are known to establish symbioses with a range of marine organisms (Bhatnagar and Kim, 2010; Sobhana, 2015). Studies in corals have shown that antibiotic activity is present in the surface mucus of healthy corals (Ritchie, 2006) greater than 20% of bacteria isolated from the mucus of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, demonstrated antibiotic activity against a range of pathogenic test strains and 8% were active against a pathogen that causes disease in this species (Ritchie, 2006). These results suggest that organisms may derive some of their immunity from probiotic bacteria associated with their surface mucus layers

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Conclusion