Catecholamines (DOPAMINE) Increases the Virulence of Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC AH-1N, the Causative Agent of Motile Aeromonas Septicemia (MAS)

It has been widely documented that stress conditions in aquatic ecosystems could trigger the release of stress hormone (dopamine) in fishes. Such hormone could attract pathogens (such as Aeromonas hydrophila) to initiate its infection in fishes. The major focus of this study was to investigate the effect of the catecholamine derived stress hormone (dopamine) on the motility and hemolytic activity associated with the virulence of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N, the causative agent of Motile Aeromonas Septicemia (MAS). The density of bacterial cells used in this study was adjusted at 106 cells/ml. The results showed that dopamine increased swimming motility of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N and was proportional to both dopamine hormone concentration and the incubation period. Dopamine concentration of 100 µM in the medium resulted in the highest increment of swimming ability of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N. The dopamine hormone was also found to affect the hemolytic activity of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N. The optimum hemolytic activity of the pathogen was found at 50 µM dopamine concentration in the medium, and this hemolytic activity was found to decrease when the concentration of dopamine at greater than 50 µM. It can be concluded from this study that dopamine hormone increased the motility and hemolysis capability, as well as the growth rate of A. hydrophila, and hence increased its virulence.