Pathogenic hitchhiker diversity on international ships' ballast water at West Malaysia port

Nor Aishah Salleh; Farah Nadiah Rosli; Muhamad Afiq Akbar; Aqilah Yusof; Fathul Karim Sahrani; Shairah Abdul Razak; Asmat Ahmad; Gires Usup; Hamidun Bunawan

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112850

Pathogenic hitchhiker diversity on international ships' ballast water at West Malaysia port

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Nov:172:112850. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112850. Epub 2021 Aug 12.

Authors

Nor Aishah Salleh¹, Farah Nadiah Rosli¹, Muhamad Afiq Akbar¹, Aqilah Yusof¹, Fathul Karim Sahrani², Shairah Abdul Razak³, Asmat Ahmad¹, Gires Usup², Hamidun Bunawan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Department of Earth Science and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
³ Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁴ Institute of Systems Biology, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: hamidun.bunawan@ukm.edu.my.

PMID: 34391012
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112850

Abstract

This study investigates bacterial diversity and potential pathogens in the international ships' ballast water at Tanjung Pelepas Port, Malaysia, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Thirty-four bacterial phylum, 305 families, 577 genera, and 941 species were detected in eight ballast water samples of different origins. The similarity of the bacterial composition between samples was found to be random and not tied to geographical locations. The bacterial abundance did not seem to be affected by related physicochemical except for temperature. Ballast water samples with a temperature lower than 25 °C showed a relatively lower bacterial abundance. A total of 33 potential pathogens were detected from all ballast water samples. Pseudomonas spp., Tenacibaculum spp., Flavobacteriaceae spp., Halomonas spp., and Acinetobacter junii are the potential pathogens with more than 10% OTU prevalence. This study would provide beneficial information for further enhancing ballast water microorganism guidelines in Malaysia.

Keywords: Amplicon sequencing; Bacterial diversity; Ballast water; Pathogenic.

MeSH terms

Acinetobacter
Humans
Malaysia
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Ships*
Water*

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Water

Supplementary concepts

Acinetobacter junii