Characterization of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Marine Sport Fish

Antibiotic resistance bacteria have posed serious issues for humans and domestic animals health for treating pathogenic bacterial infections over the last few decades. Abuse of antibiotics in humans, use as growth promotion and additives in livestock, in veterinary medicine and aquaculture practices, all contributed to generate antibiotic resistant bacteria by mutation through selective pressures. The antibiotic resistant bacteria are excreted as waste of humans and animals and they eventually reach to aquatic environment through effluent from wastewater treatment plants, sewage spills, urban surface water run-off, or agricultural activities. Other researchers have found antibiotic resistant bacteria in the digestive tracts of marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish. This suggest that digestive systems of aquatic animals functioning as vectors of antibiotic resistant bacteria in proliferation and dissemination. Monitoring antibiotic resistance, in indicator bacteria like Enterococcus species in aquatic organisms helps us to understand the biological mechanisms for spreading their antibiotic resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance genes. Despite of frequent use of Enterococcus spp. as water quality indicators, very little is known about Enterococcus spp. and their antibiotic resistance resided among marine and estuary species of fish. Therefore, the aim of this study was to collect information about the prevalence of the fecal indicator bacteria, Enterococcus spp. in the intestinal contents of marine sports fish as well as to characterize the antibiotic resistance patterns among the fish species.