Inhibition of shrimp pathogenic vibrios by extracellular compounds from a proteolytic bacterium Pseudomonas sp. W3

Pseudomonas sp. W3, a bacterium known to produce an extracellular alkaline protease, secreted secondary metabolites that inhibited pathogenic bacteria responsible for shrimp luminous vibriosis disease. Antivibrio compounds in the culture supernatant or culture filtrates (0.45 μ m and 0.22 μ m) of the isolate W3 were tested using an agar well diffusion method on a number of pathogenic vibrios. Vibrio harveyi PSU 2015 a pathogenic isolate was the most sensitive strain. The effectiveness of preparations from the isolate W3 against V. harveyi PSU 2015, and V. cholerae PSSCMI 0062 was in the order of culture supernatant > 0.45 μ m culture filtrate > 0.22 μ m culture filtrate. These extracellular antivibrio compounds also lysed both dead and living cells of V. harveyi PSU 2015. Results of the partial characterization tests indicated that there was some particulate antivibrio compound that was destroyed by treatment with enzymes particularly ?-chymotrypsin, autoclaving at 121°C for 15 min and was mostly removed by filtration through a 0.22 μ m filter. Most of the inhibitory compounds were of small molecular weight able to pass through a 0.22 μ m filter and were resistant to treatment with various enzymes, pH values between 4-8 and temperatures up to 121°C for 30 min. The optimum pH for the antivibrio activity in the 0.45 μ m culture filtrate was between pH 6-7.