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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 September; 38(3): 406-411

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

E. G. Ruby^,a and J. G. Morin¹

^a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093
¹ Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024

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.

Present address: The Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Contribution no. 33 from the Catalina Marine Science Center.

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