Isolation of a bacterium resembling Pirellula species from primary tissue culture of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon)

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Nov;57(11):3127-34. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.11.3127-3134.1991.

Abstract

During attempts to establish tissue cultures from hepatopancreas, heart, and hemolymph of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), using a medium including penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B, bacterial contamination in the form of a sheet of growth attached to the tissue culture vessel was a persistent problem. Contaminant bacteria were teardrop-shaped cells arranged in rosettes, and electron microscopy revealed buds, crateriform structures, and the absence of a peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall, features characteristic of bacteria in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group, a phylogenetically distinct group of eubacteria. Two strains of contaminant bacteria were isolated in pure culture. Both exhibited morphology and antibiotic resistance consistent with their membership in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group (order Planctomycetales) of eubacteria. Tissue culture media for marine invertebrates may select for such bacteria if high concentrations of cell wall synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics are included.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / growth & development
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteria / ultrastructure
  • Culture Media
  • Culture Techniques
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Penaeidae / microbiology*
  • Water Microbiology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Culture Media