Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the composition of population and abundance of green tiger shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus (P. semisulcatus) in relation to presence of main groups of pathogenic bacteria isolated from tissues of different stages of shrimps in Al-Faw City, Basrah, Iraq. Methods: The specimens of shrimp P. semisulcatus were collected from December 2016 to February 2017 by commercial trawl net. Pathogenic bacteria were isolated from muscle tissues of P. semisulcatus. Microbial species were characterized based on morphological and biochemical tests. Results: Monthly changes in the composition of population of P. semisulcatus during three months of the present study were observed; the highest abundance of males and females was recorded in February 2017. The sex ratio indicated a preponderance of females over males in study area. The average total numbers of isolated bacteria were 14.31 × 103 CFU/100 mL from shrimp in young and larval stages, while from adult shrimps average total number of bacteria was 18.46 × 102 CFU/100 mL. Pathogenic bacteria isolated presumably belonged to three species, namely, Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusions: The current study showed that the total bacteria number in young and larvae specimens of P. semisulcatus was greater than that in adult specimens, and exceeded the allowed maximum bacteria number.

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