Construction and characterization of a live, attenuated esrB mutant of Edwardsiella tarda and its potential as a vaccine against the haemorrhagic septicaemia in turbot, Scophthamus maximus (L.)

The esrB gene of Edwardsiella tarda, which encodes a regulator protein of the type III secretion system, was mutated by the unmarked deletion method and reintroduced by allelic exchange into the chromosome of E. tarda LSE40 by means of the suicide vector pRE112. The LSE40 esrB mutant was highly attenuated when inoculated intraperitoneally into turbot Scophthamus maximus L., showing a 50% lethal dose of 108.1 cfu/fish. The esrB mutants were not recoverable from the internal organs at 14 days post-inoculation. Vaccination with a single dose of 105–107 cfu/fish of the esrB mutant elicited significant protection against the wild-type strain of E. tarda LSE40 (relative percentage survival > 50%). The protection correlated well with the antibody titres in the serum of vaccinated fish.