Isolation and molecular identification of Mycobacterium from Rainbow fishes in Sabzevar pools (April - September 2017)

The members of the genus Mycobacterium, are the causative agents of mycobacteriosis, Mycobacteriosis is a chronic and progressive disease that may affect all tissues of the fish. Clinical signs include scale loss, dermal ulceration, spinal defects and etc. Mycobacteriosis is a zoonosis disease, and most people who deal with fish, are at risk. Due to the expansion of Rainbow fish breeding in the city of Sabzevar and having awareness the disease caused by Mycobacterium in fish and as a result of mortality and economic damage and also possibility of transferring this bacterium from fish to humans, it is necessary to study Mycobacterium in Sabzevar Rainbow fish. The purpose of this research is isolation and molecular identification of Mycobacterium from Rainbow fishes in Sabzevar pools. In this research 50 Rainbow fishes with clinical signs collected from seven different fish breeding pools in Sabzevar city. After autopsy and culture of the specimens in sterile conditions, in order to confirm acid-fast of the bacteria, was performed Ziel-Neelsen staining. Then, DNA extraction was performed and PCR-16s rRNA was performed to confirm mycobacterium infection. To determine identity, the results of the sequencing of the PCR product were evaluated using the BLAST program. In this research, three acidfast isolates grew, that the sequence of all three isolates belonged with 99% similar to Mycobacterium peregrinum. Given that M. peregrinum is isolated from aquatic and human respiratory tract infections, Therefore, it is necessary to warn people who deal with fish in any way.