Evaluation of different conditions and culture media for the recovery of Aeromonas spp. from water and shellfish samples

• Published in: Journal of applied microbiology Vol. 121; no. 3; pp. 883 - 891
• Main Authors: Latif‐Eugenín, F., Beaz‐Hidalgo, R., Figueras, M.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.09.2016
• Subjects: Aeromonas; Aeromonas - growth & development; Aeromonas - isolation & purification; Aeromonas - metabolism; Aeromonas caviae; Aeromonas media; Aeromonas salmonicida; Ampicillin; Bacteria; Bacteriological Techniques - instrumentation; Bacteriological Techniques - methods; Bile salts; Comparative studies; Culture media; Culture Media - chemistry; Culture Media - metabolism; Dextrin; direct plating; Enrichment; Fish; Food contamination & poisoning; Fresh Water - microbiology; Microbiology; Recovery; Salts; Sampling methods; Shellfish; Shellfish - microbiology; Species; Starch; water; Water analysis; Water sampling; enrichment; culture media; shellfish; direct plating; water; Aeromonas
• ISSN: 1364-5072; 1365-2672
• DOI: 10.1111/jam.13210

Aims To perform a comparative study for determining the optimum culture method (direct plating or enrichment) and medium (ampicillin dextrin agar (ADA), starch ampicillin agar (SAA), bile salts irgasan brilliant green modified (BIBG‐m)) for recovering Aeromonas species from water and shellfish samples. Methods and Results By direct culture, Aeromonas was detected in 65% (13/20) of the water samples and in 54·5% (6/11) of the shellfish samples. However, when a pre‐enrichment step was included, the number of positive water samples increased to 75% (15/20) and the ones of shellfish to 90·1% (10/11). The enriched culture significantly favoured (P < 0·05) the isolation of Aeromonas allosaccharophila from water, Aeromonas salmonicida from shellfish and Aeromonas caviae from both types of samples. The most specific (P < 0·05) culture medium for detecting Aeromonas from water was ADA. However, no differences were observed in the case of shellfish samples (P > 0·05). Isolation of Aeromonas media from water was favoured (P < 0·05) in the ADA medium, while SAA enhanced (P < 0·05) the isolation of Aer. salmonicida from shellfish. Conclusions The culture method and medium used influenced the recovery of some Aeromonas species from water and shellfish samples. Significance and Impact of the Study This fact should be considered in future prevalence studies to avoid overestimating the above mentioned Aeromonas species.