Predominant intestinal bacteria of the pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) reared in an indoor tank as determined by the clone library analysis and culture method

This study classified a total of 299 clones - constructed from the aforementioned six fish specimens - into nine classes, 18 orders, 25 families, 46 genera and 75 species, indicating that the intestinal tracts of these fish were populated by diverse bacterial species. However, not a single member of the family Vibrionaceae was detected in any of the clone libraries, suggesting that Vibrionaceae are minor components in the intestinal tracts of coastal wild fish. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the predominant species of the bacterial community in the intestinal contents of pufferfish reared in an indoor tank by both the clone library analysis and the culture method, in order to gain a better understanding of the ecology of opportunistic bacteria in fish.