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Development of bioluminescent Edwardsiella ictaluri for noninvasive disease monitoring

  1. Attila Karsi,
  2. Simon Menanteau-Ledouble,
  3. Mark L. Lawrence

Article first published online: 1 JUN 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00310.x

Issue

FEMS Microbiology Letters

FEMS Microbiology Letters

Volume 260, Issue 2, pages 216–223, July 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Karsi, A., Menanteau-Ledouble, S. and Lawrence, M. L. (2006), Development of bioluminescent Edwardsiella ictaluri for noninvasive disease monitoring. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 260: 216–223. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00310.x

Author Information

  1. Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA

*Correspondence: Mark L. Lawrence, Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6100, Mississippi State, MS 39762-6100, USA. Tel.: +1 662 325 1195; fax: +1 662 325 1031; e-mail: lawrence@cvm.msstate.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 1 JUN 2006
  2. Article first published online: 1 JUN 2006
  3. Received 31 January 2006; revised 9 May 2006; accepted 9 May 2006.First published online 1 June 2006.

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Keywords:

  • channel catfish;
  • Edwardsiella ictaluri;
  • septicemia;
  • bacterial luciferase;
  • luxCDABE;
  • bioluminescence imaging

Abstract

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a facultative intracellular bacterium that causes enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC). In this study, we aimed to develop bioluminescent E. ictaluri that can be monitored by noninvasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI). To accomplish this, the luxCDABE operon of Photorhabdus luminescens was cloned downstream of the lacZ promoter in the broad host range plasmid pBBR1MCS4. Edwardsiella ictaluri strain 93-146 transformed with the new plasmid, pAKlux1, was highly bioluminescent. pAKlux1 was stably maintained in E. ictaluri without any apparent effect on growth or native plasmid stability. To assess the usefulness of the bioluminescent strain in disease studies, catfish were infected with 93-146 pAKlux1 by intraperitoneal injection and by bath immersion, and in vivo bacterial dissemination was observed using BLI. This study demonstrated that bioluminescent E. ictaluri can be used for real-time monitoring of ESC in live fish, which should enable observation of pathogen attachment sites and tissue predilections.

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