Antibiotics or chemicals such as bleach are used for water treatments to remove potential pathogens in aquaculture reservoirs or holding tanks. Antibiotic or chemicals run offs are an ecological and environmental problem, resulting in antibiotic resistant bacteria or chemical buildups in marine ecosystems. Furthermore, antibiotics or chemical treatments can be costly in the long run. A antimicrobial peptide synthesized to kill bacteria while not harming seafood or food fish that could be coated on filter floss or sponges is a novel solution that could eliminate pathogens, while not harming the environment. Furthermore, this method of treating water could be more sustainable as the sponge is reusable for farmers to a certain extent before replacement.
Novel peptide E poly lysine was pr ovided by Professor Yang Daiwen by National University of Singapore. The antimicrobial efficacy was of two pathogens: Salmonella spp. and Vibrio harveyi. E poly lysine coated cottons were also exposed to 10L quarantine tanks via a hang on back filter with the two pathogens introduced into the water system for 24 hours. Pathogen detection was analyzed via PCR and agar spread plating. 1 month old tilapia fry were then added to the different quarantine tanks and left for 14 days for observation. The survival rate and water quality were recorded after the 14 days. Finally metagenomics sequencing of the water was performed to analyzed the microbiome diversity of the treatment groups exposed to the peptide coated cotton.
Preliminary results show the peptide
MIC and MBC for Salmonella spp. and Vibrio harveyi were comparable to previous studies using E. coli .
Metagenomics sequencing also noted
that the bacteria biodiversity of the tanks exposed to the peptide have the least diverse bacterial diversity, hypothesizing that the peptide is unbiased in removing bacteria regardless pathogen or not.