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. 1979 Sep;38(3):406–411. doi: 10.1128/aem.38.3.406-411.1979

Luminous Enteric Bacteria of Marine Fishes: a Study of Their Distribution, Densities, and Dispersion †

E G Ruby a,‡, J G Morin 1
PMCID: PMC243508  PMID: 16345429

Abstract

Three taxa of luminous bacteria (Photobacterium fischeri, P. phosphoreum, and Beneckea spp.) were found in the enteric microbial populations of 22 species of surface- and midwater-dwelling fishes. These bacteria often occurred in concentrations ranging between 105 and 107 colony-forming units per ml of enteric contents. By using a genetically marked strain, it was determined that luminous cells entering the fish during ingestion of seawater or contaminated particles traversed the alimentary tract and survived the digestive processes. After excretion, luminous bacteria proliferated extensively on the fecal material and became distributed into the surrounding seawater. Thus, this enteric habitat may serve as an enrichment of viable cells entering the planktonic luminous population.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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