Population Dynamics and Molecular Identification of Vibrio spp. onRearing Water of Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) at TurtleConservation and Education Center (TCEC) Serangan Bali

Bahasa Indonesia

Abstract

Bacteria from the Genus Vibrio are among those that can contaminate turtle rearing water. These bacteria are categorized as opportunistic pathogens affecting aquatic organisms. Olive ridley turtles rescued from the wild are susceptible to infection by pathogenic bacteria due to wounds on their body surface. This study aimed to assess the population dynamics and molecular identification of Vibrio spp. in the rearing water of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) at TCEC Serangan Bali. Rearing water samples were collected using a composite sampling method from three different rearing water. Bacterial enumeration, including total bacterial count (TBC), total Vibrio count (TVC), total yellow colony (TYC), and total green colony (TGC), was conducted in the olive ridley sea turtle rearing water on days 0, 15, and 30. Serial dilution and the plate count method were used to determine the number of colonies that developed. Bacterial isolates of Vibrio spp. that successfully grew were confirmed by molecular identification using PCR. The TBC in the rearing water fluctuated during the study period. The highest TBC value was 63.02 log CFU/mL on day 15 in rearing water 2, and the lowest TBC value was 4.30 log CFU/mL on day 30 in rearing water 3. The highest TVC value was 43.27 log CFU/mL on day 15 in rearing water 2, and the lowest was 9.37 log CFU/mL on day 0 in rearing water 2. The highest TGC value was 7.64 log CFU/mL in rearing water 1 on day 0, and the lowest was 4.77 log CFU/mL in rearing water 3 on day 30. The highest TYC result was 38.08 log CFU/mL in rearing water 2 on day 15, and the lowest was 4.39 log CFU/mL in rearing water 1 on day 0. Electrophoresis showed that the 16S rRNA gene in Vibrio bacterial DNA was successfully amplified and indicated by a band of approximately 1416 bp. One bacterial isolate, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, was identified from this study.