MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM THE INTESTINE OF PAGRUS PAGRUS FISH FROM IZMIR BAY

The number of infections related to antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing worldwide. Fish from different polluted sources can harbor multi-drug-resistant bacteria that can be transferred to humans either through ingesting or contacting the contaminated fish. Accessibility and affordability make it a valuable food source for local people in Turkey. Isolation of bacteria from Pagrus pagrus fish intestinal tracts was done by the spreading plate method using Luria Bertani (LB) medium. The disk diffusion method was used to evaluate antibiotic resistance. Three isolates which were resistant to all tested antibiotics designated as BLK1, BLK2 and BLK3 were selected. DNA sequence analysis was performed by 16s rDNA amplification to identify the isolates. According to the partial 16s rDNA sequence analysis BLK1, BLK2 and BLK3 were revealed to be Klebsiella aerogenes (98.45%), Vibrio alginolyticus (99.56%) and Enterobacter asburiae (98.27%) respectively. Klebsiella sp. BLK1, Vibrio sp. BLK2 and Enterobacter sp. BLK3 were resistant to all antibiotics used in this study. These findings and other studies emphasize the importance of drug resistance research in aquatic systems which could help develop guidelines for the cautious use of antimicrobials.