Isolation of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae from the giant grouper, Epinephelus lanceolatus

A giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) that was reared for public exhibition in a private commercial aquarium in Seoul, Korea, was recently found dead. The fish had evidenced symptoms including anorexia, lethargy, and depression persisting for two weeks. A bacterial pathogen from fish organs (kidney, liver, spleen) was cultured, identified and confirmed as Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae, using a Vitek System 2, API 20E test, multiplex PCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In this paper, we have described the isolation and identification of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae from a giant grouper reared in a private aquarium in Korea.