An outbreak of a disease with a high mortality rate occurred in a Chinese Softshell Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) farm in Hubei Province. This study isolated a highly pathogenic Bacillus cereus strain (Y271) from diseased P. sinensis. Y271 has β hemolysis, containing both Hemolysin BL (hblA, hblC, and hblD), Non-hemolytic enterotoxin, NHE (nheA, nheB, and nheC), and Enterotoxin FM (entFM) genes. Y271 is highly pathogenic against P. sinensis with an LD50 = 6.80 × 103 CFU/g weight. B. cereus was detected in multiple tissues of the infected P. sinensis. Among them, spleen tissue showed the highest copy number density (1.54 ± 0.12 × 104 copies/mg). Multiple tissues and organs of diseased P. sinensis exhibited significant pathological damage, especially the spleen, liver, kidney, and intestine. It showed obvious tissue structure destruction, lesions, necrosis, red blood cells, and inflammatory cell infiltration. B. cereus proliferating in the spleen, liver, and other tissues was observed. The intestinal microbiota of the diseased P. sinensis was altered, with a greater abundance of Firmicutes, Fusobacterium, and Actinomyces than in the healthy group. Allobaculum, Rothia, Aeromonas, and Clostridium abundance were higher in the diseased group than in the healthy group. The number of unique microbial taxa (472) in the disease group was lower than that of the healthy group (705). Y271 was sensitive to multiple drugs, including florfenicol, enrofloxacin, neomycin, and doxycycline. B. cereus is the etiological agent responsible for the massive death of P. sinensis and reveals its potential risks during P. sinensis cultivation.
Keywords: Chinese softshell turtle; Trionyx sinensis; bacterial load; bacterial toxin; gut microbiota; histopathology.